Urgent need for organ donations as Hong Kong's young heart patient recovers from transplant

One more child in Hong Kong is urgently waiting for a heart transplant following the "miracle" heart transplant operation of an eight-month-old baby girl. 

According to pediatric cardiologist Cheung Yiu-fai, service head of cardiology at the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, the condition of baby Whitney remains stable, and her heart function is performing well.

Whitney faced a daunting challenge when diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that left her with only 20 percent heart function.

Thanks to a successful cross-border organ donation, she received a new heart from a mainland donor on Sunday. Her remarkable story highlights the power of hope and the gift of life.

On a radio program on Tuesday, Cheung said: “In the coming days, as Whitney’s condition continues to stabilize, we will reduce heart medication and respiratory support, lower the sedatives, and she will gradually wake up. 

“If everything goes smoothly, we will continue to strengthen monitoring in the intensive care unit before transferring her to a regular ward, and eventually home.”

Whitney, who was suffering from heart dysfunction, received a cross-border donation from the mainland and underwent heart transplant surgery at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon Bay on Sunday.

Cheung noted that this was Hong Kong’s second heart donation from the mainland, and the process went smoothly.

He emphasized the significance of pre-surgery communication with the mainland and the swift transport of the donor’s heart to Hong Kong. 

“The key is that once the heart is removed from the donor’s body, we need to place it into Whitney’s body within the ideal time frame of 4 to 6 hours to ensure the heart can function again,” he said. 

“For this case, achieving this within two hours was very ideal, minimizing the time of ischemia.”

Cheung also said there is still one child urgently in need of a heart transplant and is waiting for an organ outside the hospital. 

He underscored the scarcity of organ donors in Hong Kong and urged the public and families to consider making selfless donations.

(Cheng Wong)