Wife issues an emotional public appeal for heart donation to save the life of her 'perfect husband'
EMILY TSANGemily.tsang@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 05 September, 2015, 2:02am
UPDATED : Saturday, 05 September, 2015, 2:02am
Heart patient Chan Ying-kit with wife Leung Yuk-ping. The 36-year-old was found to have coronary heart disease in June. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
The wife of a dying heart patient who has been waiting for an organ donation for two months made an emotional appeal for public help yesterday, further highlighting a shortage of donors in Hong Kong.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man made an appeal for organ donations as the family of Chan Ying-kit drew attention to the plight of the 36-year-old father, who heads a list of 28 people in need of a heart and is awaiting surgery in Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam.
Chan's wife, Leung Yuk-ping, pleaded for her "perfect husband" to be given a lifeline.
"I never know whether I will see him again tomorrow," she said. "When I leave the hospital, I dare not say 'goodbye' for fear it is the last one. Instead, I say to him 'see you tomorrow'. Please give him another chance by donating the organs of your deceased family members. It will make a big difference to our family."
The shortage of donated organs was highlighted earlier in the case of liver patient Stephen Lee, whose transplant operation was aborted at Queen Mary Hospital last week. Doctors cut open Lee's abdomen but called off the operation when it emerged that the dead donor had cancer.
Only about 2 per cent of Hongkongers, or 170,000 people, are registered donors on the Department of Health's list, while more than 2,000 patients are waiting for vital organs.
"The ratio of registered donors is not up to expectations," Ko said. "Patients with heart, liver and kidney failure cannot wait for a long time. Please continue to support the donation programme."
Chan Ying-kit is a family man with young children.
On Tuesday, the family of a brain-dead patient refused to donate his organs.
Chan is a driving instructor and breadwinner of the family of five - his youngest son is 11 months old. He was found to have coronary heart disease in June, which led to heart failure. Queen Mary Hospital gave him an artificial organ on July 1 after his heart lost 90 per cent of its function. But only a transplant can give him a new life.
Dr Cally Ho Ka-lai, a consultant in cardiothoracic surgery at the hospital, said Chan could suffer a fatal infection and stroke "at any moment".
Ho said it was more difficult to find a new heart, as the vital organ must be donated by someone who is brain-dead but still on life support.
Finding a donor for Chan is also harder because he has uncommon A+ blood and also needs a larger heart - the donor must be at least 170cm tall.
Leung is now praying that help arrives for the man she describes as a "100 per cent good father and husband".
"He has always worked too hard to support the family. We only had dinner together once a week as he was always working. If there is another chance, I would definitely choose differently and make things right," she said.
Meanwhile, the wife of 46-year-old Lee said he was now in a more stable condition and his eyeballs were responsive when she talked to him - but he is still in desperate need of a transplant.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1855453/please-give-him-another-chance-wife-pleads-heart
