Local man receives dual transplant

A local man has received a liver made out of parts of his daughters’ livers at Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital. The recipient is Cheng Chi-ming, a 59-year-old Macau security guard who suffers from hepatitis B and has been in a coma. It was considered the first ever simultaneous dual transplant of its kind in the world. Doctors said that he may have passed away within a week if a suitable liver was not found.
After being evaluated for possible liver donation, two of Cheng’s three daughters were found to be suitable donors. Since their livers were too small to be used alone, the doctors decided to use two-thirds of one daughter’s liver and one-third from the other in order to reconstruct a new one for their father.
The Health Bureau stated yesterday that it did not request the transfer of the resident to the Hong Kong hospital. If care cannot be provided in Macau, the bureau sends patients to overseas institutions and pays for all of their expenses. Throughout the past five years there have been 23 patients needing to be sent to hospitals outside of Macau for transplants.