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Queen Mary Hospital. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Paper Talk: Oldest liver ever transplanted goes to cirrhosis patient

Nelson Cheng

The liver of an 84-year-old retired doctor who died of a stroke has been successfully transplanted at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam to a cirrhosis patient in his 40s, making the deceased the donor of the oldest liver on record in Hong Kong history. The operation was conducted after the family of the deceased agreed to the donation, although he had never filled out an organ donation card.

A 50-year-old transgender person who underwent surgery to become a woman came out of the closet to talk about her difficulties during a conference hosted by the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva. Luk Yuet-ming, born a male, had undergone more than 20 unsuccessful penis-reconstruction operations since she was eight. It was only when she was diagnosed with a condition which her doctor said could lead to testicular cancer that Luk decided to undergo sex-change operations to have her penis removed.

A new technology used to treat patients suffering from glaucoma and cataracts at the same time has been introduced at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong. The new procedure takes only 35 to 40 minutes - much shorter than current methods. Patients receiving the new treatment do not have to stay in hospital and need fewer follow-up sessions. The new system is also expected to shorten the waiting list for glaucoma operations.

The daily one-way permit quota of 150 places has become the main source of population growth in the city. According to papers submitted by the government to the Legislative Council, 879,000 mainlanders have migrated to the city for family reunion under the scheme since 1997, making up about 12 per cent of the current population of 7.3 million. The documents also show that cross-border marriages accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all local marriages last year, bringing even more mainlanders to the city.

Villagers living near the frontier-closed area in North District stretching from Ta Kwu Ling to Lin Ma Hang are increasingly worried about plans to open the area in January. Reporters found traffic accidents could happen because road expansion projects were progressing slowly.

The Fire Services Department is finding it difficult to hire new recruits as many candidates failed to prepare for the interview and physical tests. A training instructor said some applicants could not even complete one push-up and others did not know how to tie their shoelaces.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Oldest liver ever transplanted goes to cirrhosis patient
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