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Under 18s will be allowed to donate organs only if big majority backs it, Hong Kong minister says
Health minister Ko Wing-man makes comment as he pledges to consult public on easing transplant law in wake of concern about acute liver failure patient
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Amendments to the transplant law allowing people under 18 to be living donors would be considered only if a significant majority backed it, the health minister said.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man was commenting as the government pledged to launch a public consultation soon on whether to amend the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance after a 17-year-old girl wanted to donate part of her liver to save her mother, but was barred as she was three months shy of the legal age to make a donation.
Her mother, Tang Kwai-sze, who received a second liver transplant on Thursday, continued to make progress on Saturday. Tang had her first transplant on April 13 with a liver donated by Momo Cheng Hoi-yan, but the organ did not function well. Tang had been suffering from acute liver failure.
“She is improving and can open her eyes,” said Dr Kelvin Ng Kwok-chai from Queen Mary Hospital’s liver transplant centre.
While Tang’s liver function was also improving, Ng said she still needed dialysis and a ventilator to help her breathe.
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