- PHOTOS
Source: CHANNELS NEWS ASIA
SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old girl has been given a new lease
of life after receiving a donor liver in Singapore’s first altruistic
liver donation without a specific recipient in mind.
When she was eight, Lim Si Jia was diagnosed with glycogen storage disease, a rare genetic condition where the body is incapable of producing a critical enzyme needed to break down glycogen – the body’s store of sugar. In the liver varieties of the disease, the glycogen accumulates in the liver and often results in the organ swelling.
She had to have a regular feed of uncooked starch, such as cornstarch mixed with water, which she would take every night. The uncooked starch serves as a constant supply of glucose to the body. But over time, the accumulation of unused glucose as glycogen in the liver can cause tumours to develop and become cancerous.
She needed a liver transplant, and was put on the national waiting list.
In January 2015, 54-year-old Peter Lim Kok Seng, a security officer, stepped forward to be a non-directed liver donor – this meant that he was willing for his liver to be used for the most needy patient on the waiting list. He had wanted to donate his liver before he turned 55, the recommended cut-off age to be a living liver donor.
Mr Lim was found to be a suitable donor for Si Jia. On Mar 24, 2016, Si Jia underwent a 10-hour transplant surgery at the National University Hospital (NUH). She had an "uncomplicated recovery and was discharged within the usual time", her doctors said.
Si Jia, from Edgevale Secondary School, is expected to return to school about three to six months after her operation.
Mr Lim's operation was also successful and he was discharged five days after the operation.
"It was never in my mind that I was the first non-directed donor. At the back of my mind it was just to save a life... and even when I came out of my beautiful sleep, my first question was: 'I hope the recipient is recovering'," Mr Lim said.
NUH has done 305 liver transplants since 1990. Thirty-seven were carried out in 2015.
"I'm really grateful to Mr Lim," said Si Jia. "I really admire his courage and determination because I heard that he wanted to donate one year ago but hadn't been able to find a match.
"I was very fortunate that everything matched, so I'm just very grateful for everything he's done. I feel healthier than before. Actually in terms of (of my) physical level, pretty much the same as a normal person - maybe a bit weaker but quite normal.
"I'm hoping to grow taller," she added.
“We hope that Mr Lim’s compassion and generosity will encourage more people with such levels of altruism to step forward to provide the ultimate gift of life to someone in need of an organ,” said Professor Krishnakumar Madhavan, co-director of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation and one of the surgeons who worked on the surgery.
Si Jia will need to be on long-term medication to ensure her body does not reject the transplanted liver. But she is recovering well, and will eventually be able to take part in normal school activities, said Professor Quak Seng Hock, the head and senior consultant of NUH’s Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, who has been overseeing the care of Si Jia since 2008.
“Because of the liver transplant, Si Jia can now have a better quality of life and take part in more physical activities she had always wanted but did not have the opportunity to do so,” he said.
When she was eight, Lim Si Jia was diagnosed with glycogen storage disease, a rare genetic condition where the body is incapable of producing a critical enzyme needed to break down glycogen – the body’s store of sugar. In the liver varieties of the disease, the glycogen accumulates in the liver and often results in the organ swelling.
She had to have a regular feed of uncooked starch, such as cornstarch mixed with water, which she would take every night. The uncooked starch serves as a constant supply of glucose to the body. But over time, the accumulation of unused glucose as glycogen in the liver can cause tumours to develop and become cancerous.
She needed a liver transplant, and was put on the national waiting list.
In January 2015, 54-year-old Peter Lim Kok Seng, a security officer, stepped forward to be a non-directed liver donor – this meant that he was willing for his liver to be used for the most needy patient on the waiting list. He had wanted to donate his liver before he turned 55, the recommended cut-off age to be a living liver donor.
Mr Lim was found to be a suitable donor for Si Jia. On Mar 24, 2016, Si Jia underwent a 10-hour transplant surgery at the National University Hospital (NUH). She had an "uncomplicated recovery and was discharged within the usual time", her doctors said.
Si Jia, from Edgevale Secondary School, is expected to return to school about three to six months after her operation.
Mr Lim's operation was also successful and he was discharged five days after the operation.
"It was never in my mind that I was the first non-directed donor. At the back of my mind it was just to save a life... and even when I came out of my beautiful sleep, my first question was: 'I hope the recipient is recovering'," Mr Lim said.
NUH has done 305 liver transplants since 1990. Thirty-seven were carried out in 2015.
"I'm really grateful to Mr Lim," said Si Jia. "I really admire his courage and determination because I heard that he wanted to donate one year ago but hadn't been able to find a match.
"I was very fortunate that everything matched, so I'm just very grateful for everything he's done. I feel healthier than before. Actually in terms of (of my) physical level, pretty much the same as a normal person - maybe a bit weaker but quite normal.
"I'm hoping to grow taller," she added.
Even before the Human Organ Transplant Act was passed in 1987, Mr Lim had voluntarily signed up to be an organ donor. He has also pledged his organs and body tissues for transplant, education or research purposes after his death.The thank you card that Si Jia gave to Mr Lim. (Photo: Wendy Wong)
“We hope that Mr Lim’s compassion and generosity will encourage more people with such levels of altruism to step forward to provide the ultimate gift of life to someone in need of an organ,” said Professor Krishnakumar Madhavan, co-director of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation and one of the surgeons who worked on the surgery.
Si Jia will need to be on long-term medication to ensure her body does not reject the transplanted liver. But she is recovering well, and will eventually be able to take part in normal school activities, said Professor Quak Seng Hock, the head and senior consultant of NUH’s Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, who has been overseeing the care of Si Jia since 2008.
“Because of the liver transplant, Si Jia can now have a better quality of life and take part in more physical activities she had always wanted but did not have the opportunity to do so,” he said.
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