TODDLER Lam Wen-ki will be able to spend most of 1995 at home rather than in hospital following her mother's successful bid to save her life. Wen-ki, two, who received part of her mother's liver less than a month ago, has been allowed home with a clean bill of health. She is expected to return for a check-up today but doctors say she has fared well after 11 hours of delicate surgery and she can look forward to a promising 1995. Wen-ki, who suffered biliary atresia - a blockage in the bile duct - since she was one month old, has spent most of her young life in hospital, waiting for a liver donation that never came. Wen-ki's mother, Lam Leung Oi-kwan, 26, said because a cadaveric liver was not forthcoming she agreed to give part of her liver to Wen-ki, instead of having to watch her only child die slowly. 'It was not a difficult decision. I have never thought of giving her up,' she said. 'Liver donations are so rare in Hong Kong. I feared Wen-ki could not wait much longer. In the end, I decided we could not just rely on other people.' Mrs Lam said she had never thought of not going through with the operation because doctors at the Prince of Wales Hospital had given her the confidence that it would be a success. But the rarity of a live-related liver transplant had caused concern in the family. Mrs Lam said her mother had raised objections because the operation still meant a healthy person had to go under the knife, although the risk was small. 'But Wen-ki is her granddaughter. She loves her too. We had no choice,' she said. Only four live-related liver transplants have been performed at Prince of Wales Hospital since it pioneered the surgery less than two years ago. The third recipient, an eight-year-old boy, died of an infection despite a smooth operation. Mrs Lam, who has recovered well from her four-hour operation, said she was greatly relieved that Wen-ki was also recovering from the surgery. 'I have seen Wen-ki in critical condition. 'There were a few times when we thought death was near. 'But we don't blame fate. We are such frequent visitors to hospitals, we have seen worse cases,' she said. Dr Yeung Chung-kwong said there were other children still waiting desperately for a liver transplant, increasing the possibility of another live-related transplant.
