Doctors urge heart donation for seriously ailing 10-year-old Hong Kong boy
Organ transplant described as best option for his cardiomyopathy
Doctors of a 10-year-old patient at Queen Mary Hospital have appealed to the public for a heart donation as the boy is suffering life-threatening heart failure and urgently needs a transplant within one or two weeks.
Dr Timmy Au Wing-kuk, the hospital’s chief of cardiothoracic surgery, said a heart donation with blood type A positive was needed from a deceased donor similar in size to patient Tang Kai-him, who stands 131cm tall and weighs 36kg.
“His life will be in danger if he can’t receive a heart transplant over these one or two weeks,” he said. “Right now, he is suffering severe heart failure with only 1 per cent heart function.”
Au added that the size of a donated heart within a 15 per cent deviation would be acceptable, so adult hearts from deceased donors would still be suitable for Tang to undergo a transplant.
“For a 10-year old patient, of course we prefer a donated heart from younger people in their 20s or 30s,” he said. “If you ask me whether a 60-year-old man’s heart is still suitable for the transplant, I would say it depends on the heart’s condition. If there’s no other option, we may still need to take the risk of using an older man’s heart,” the doctor added.