Bless all the donors, says little Louie's mother
Readers of the South China Morning Post have responded generously to the appeal for funds to pay for seven-year-old Filipino Louie Perez's life-saving liver transplant.
'We owe so much to the donors who have tried save the life of my son,' Louie's mother, Mary Jean Perez, 26, said yesterday.
'May you all be blessed! Hopefully you would not tire of helping people like me, especially those people who read the stories in the Post and responded with their hearts.'
Queen Mary Hospital, the teaching hospital of the University of Hong Kong's Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, requires a $1 million deposit for non-Hong Kong residents undergoing a liver transplant - $800,000 for the transplant's average cost and $200,000 for contingencies.
By yesterday, almost all of the $1 million needed for Louie's operations had been raised, including donations made in the Philippines and by a US foundation.
Yesterday's donations from Post readers included a $50,000 cheque from BGC Credit Desk, $50,000 from an anonymous couple and $82,400 from various donors.
'If there is still an outstanding amount due when the final tally is made, do let us know and we will be happy to help,' a spokesman for BGC Credit Desk said yesterday.
'With our prayers and our best wishes for his recovery,' said the anonymous couple as they handed over their cheque at the Philippine consulate.
Meanwhile, Louie's father, Ernanie, was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital yesterday after a liver biopsy to check his suitability as donor left him with some bleeding.
Mr Perez, a 27-year-old factory worker and part-time driver, plans to donate part of his liver to Louie, his eldest son. Specialists have yet to set a date for Louie's transplant.
