Materia Medica Malaysiana

Delays stall toddler’s liver transplant

After an arduous five-month wait, it is still uncertain whether 15-month-old Nur Atiqah Najwa Mohd Sharif will be able to undergo liver transplant surgery on June 26 as hoped.

It seems the much-anticipated surgery may not take place just yet, as Dr Goon Hong Kai, the paediatric consultant in Subang Jaya Medical Centre, who will perform the operation, wants the child's lungs to be in good condition before the surgery.

"She is stable, but her lungs are infected," Dr Goon said outside SJMC's intensive-care unit today.

"We will have to treat it and hopefully the surgery can be on the appointed date." The toddler was transferred to SJMC from the University Malaya Medical Centre for the surgery this afternoon. "The surgery is still tentative and we will proceed with it only if everything goes well," Dr Goon said. "Things can still change." Nur Atiqah's prospective donor, Ahmad Khairi Al-Hadi, 27, is eager for the surgery to be over and done with.

"I have been waiting for two years to donate since I registered with the Selangor Youth Council. I am ready and if the doctors tell me that we need to operate now, it would not be a problem for me," he said. "I sincerely want to help this girl," he said, adding that others had helped his own three-year-olddaughter when she needed RM8,000 for surgery.

Nur Atiqah's father Mohd Sharif Abdul Hamid remains anxious.

"I am quite happy for what's happened of late. Many people have taken interest in my daughter's plight and I wish to take this opportunity to thank them all." Aware that his daughter may not be operated on the stipulated date because of her complications, which include internal bleeding, Sharif was leaving it to the doctors to decide.

"They know best. This is very risky surgery," he said, adding that the family had been waiting for surgery since February. "I hope that in future, such cases will not be bogged down in red tape. It is sad to note that liver transplant patients such as my daughter have to wait for a long time before getting the necessary approval from the Health Ministry as her donor is not related to her," he said. However, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, said the matter of Ahmad Khairi being unrelated to Nur Atiqah was unlikely to lead to changes. .Chua, at a Press conference in Universiti Putra Malaysia after a cheque presentation ceremony, said procedures needed to be adhered to, especially if potential organ donors were unrelated to recipients.