Lo as she looked when in better health. Photo: Handout
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1864938/hong-kong-lung-transplant-hopeful-jamella-lo-dies Health & Environment
Jamella Lo loses fight for life: Hong Kong teen passes away after three-week wait for lung transplant
19-year-old Jamella Lo succumbs to a lung infection after public appeal fails to find lung donor.
A file picture of Jamella Lo (left) and her father (centre) at Queen Mary Hospital today. Photo: Nora Tam
After more than two weeks waiting for a double-lung organ donation, 19-year-old Jamella Mangali Lo died yesterday afternoon at Queen Mary Hospital.
She died "without much pain or discomfort" from a lung infection at around 2.30pm, said Dr Timmy Au Wing-kuk, the hospital's chief of cardiothoracic surgery.
Speaking through tears, the girl's father, James Lo Yun-fai, said at the hospital: "My daughter is gone, my wife is devastated. I don't know what to do or what to say now."
The girl had been in a critical condition at the Pok Fu Lam hospital since last month, after it was found that she had primary pulmonary hypertension - a rare condition affecting just three or four people in Hong Kong a year.
Doctors had initially said she might have as little as 48 hours to live.
Her family made an emotional public appeal on September 27, hoping someone would donate the lungs of a deceased loved one. Her condition briefly stabilised after two days, but no donation was forthcoming.
On Tuesday, the hospital said Lo's condition had deteriorated beyond the small window of opportunity for doctors to save her life, meaning her situation was too unstable to undergo a transplant operation even if a pair of lungs was found.
Confirming the girl's death yesterday, Au said Lo's condition had steadily declined for about two days. Her blood pressure had dropped despite treatment efforts.
In the past two weeks, Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man repeatedly appealed to the public to donate the lungs of deceased family members to save Lo's life, but to no avail.
According to the Hospital Authority, as of June, 12 patients were waiting for a double-lung donation.
At any time, around 3,000 patients are waiting for the donation of organs or tissues.
Dr Michael Hsin Kuan-yew, another doctor who treated Lo, yesterday said there had not been a suitable match, as double-lung donations carried higher requirements than other organs for transplant such as the heart, liver or kidneys.
Apart from matching blood type and organ size, the condition of the lungs is vital as they can be easily damaged.
Au earlier said that for about every 10 organ donation cases, only five to six pairs of lungs were fit for transplant. To date, 11 lung transplants have been conducted in the city this year.