DANNY MOK AND EMILY TSANG
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 09 September, 2015, 12:37am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 09 September, 2015, 2:48am
Stephen Lee and his wife. Lee is undergoing a liver transplant at last after his life hung in the balance following the last-minute cancellation of an operation. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A liver transplant is under way on a Hong Kong cirrhosis patient whose life was hanging by a thread after an earlier attempt at a transplant was aborted so late his abdomen had already been cut open.
Stephen Lee, 46, slipped into a coma and was in a critical condition for days after the operation was called off at the last minute on August 25 when it emerged that the dead donor had cancer.
READ MORE: Hong Kong's shameful organ donation rate pushes doctors to excel
Lee's wife and sister at Queen Mary's Hospital. The family has faced an agonising wait for a donor. Photo: Felix Wong
READ MORE: Hong Kong's donor dilemma
Lee’s friend, Mr Chan, confirmed the family was told a suitable liver had been found last night, and doctors at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam began operating late in the evening. A liver transplant can take 10 hours or more.
Lee’s condition had reportedly improved in the last few days.
Leo Chim, former programme host at Commercial Radio, quoted the man’s wife as saying her husband was in the operating room, and she prayed that the whole medical team would have the spirit, energy and wisdom to perform the surgery smoothly.
Lee needed a liver from a donor with type O+ blood, but none of his relatives were deemed suitable for a live donation.
The case stoked a debate over whether organs belonging to cancer patients were suitable for transplants. It also drew attention to the city's pitifully low number of registered organ donors.
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.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1856551/hope-last-hong-kong-cirrhosis-patient-stephen-lee
