15-month-old Hong Kong boy in need of a new heart is in ‘best condition’ for a transplant, say doctors
- Hui Chi-hoi, who suffers from a rare genetic heart defect, is recovering from surgery and his kidneys are once again functioning
- Chances of Chi-hoi finding a heart however remain slim as donors of a suitable age in Hong Kong are very few
A severely ill Hong Kong baby who has been waiting for a new heart is in the best condition to have a transplant after his kidney functions improved, his doctor said on Wednesday.
The parents of 15-month-old Hui Chi-hoi have been appealing since January for a new heart for their son, who recently underwent surgery to implant a pump to help his heart function properly.
Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, in a note issued on behalf of the baby’s family on Wednesday, said Chi-hoi was slowly recovering from surgery, and his kidneys had resumed functioning.
Chi-hoi suffers from restrictive cardiomyopathy, or RCM, a condition that ultimately leads to heart failure and the failure of other organs in the body.
“Last week, his kidney function finally came back … he is now passing water and has had no need for dialysis for more than a week,” the message read.
His doctor Timmy Au Wing-kuk, chief of the hospital’s division of cardiothoracic surgery, said: “now he is the best condition for heart transplant.”
In a video sent out by a hospital spokeswoman, the infant could move his legs up and down as he sat on his bed in the intensive care unit at the hospital.
Baby Chi-hoi battles potentially fatal blood clots as wait for life-saving heart transplant goes on
“He can now respond to commands and becomes more active. We would like to give thanks for the efforts of the doctors and nurses,” the boy’s parents, who did not want to be named, said in the note.
In January, they made an emotional plea for help to find an organ donor as they feared losing a second child to the disease, a rare genetic defect. Their first son died at the age of seven months in 2016.
Doctors have estimated that Chi-hoi might be able to live without a new heart for only three to six months.
The hospital previously said Chi-hoi, whose blood type is O positive, would need a heart from an infant who weighed between 8kg and 15kg.
But doctors face a tough battle finding a donated organ in the city, where there have been only three donors under the age of six in the past decade.
Liver donor comes forward to give Hong Kong toddler new hope
In January, the baby had emergency surgery to remove potentially fatal blood clots after some had been found in his heart pump.
He also suffered haemorrhaging in the brain but has recovered.
“This happened soon after the artificial heart was implanted and at one stage it was quite bad. Luckily, he has gradually recovered,” a hospital source said.
