This one-year-old boy has received a life-changing living donor liver transplant on his birthday after his stepmother turned out to be a viable donor and travelled with him from his home in Syria to Turkey for the operation.
The transplant took place in the Bursa Uludag University (BUU) Hospital in the city of Bursa in the Turkish region of Marmara on Wednesday, 28th April.
The day marked the first birthday of the patient Tamer Al Jadou who was diagnosed with acute liver failure and hospitalised just six months after he was born last year.
Doctors decided the boy needed a liver transplant in order to survive.
However, local sources said as Tamer was a Syrian citizen, Turkish law prohibits them from transplanting organs from dead bodies to non-Turkish citizens, which meant that the baby would need a living donor.
Doctors tested his biological mum Nadima Al Jadou and his father Saleh El Ceddu, ages not disclosed, but both were bad matches. Nadima’s blood did not match with Tamer’s. Saleh’s blood was a match but he was reportedly too obese, making him an unsuitable donor.
Saleh and Nadima started reaching out to any close family when they found Saleh’s wife and Temer’s step-mum Hmameh Elhalef, 30, was a match and a viable candidate for the living donor liver transplant.
Hmameh, along with six children under her care, were transported by the Turkish Armed Forces from the Syrian city of Aleppo to the Turkish border.
Local media said Hmameh was nearly not allowed to enter Turkey as she had only received permission to enter the country with her three biological children, but she attempted to enter with an additional three step-children who were Saleh’s biological children.
However, Hmameh refused to move without her kids until she was eventually allowed into the country where soldiers bought her and the children bus tickets to Bursa.
Doctors successfully completed the partial liver transplant and remain optimistic for the one-year-old’s future.
Tamer is in intensive care for five days after the procedure but was removed from a breathing apparatus and is showing signs of good health.
Doctors think Tamer will be discharged within 10 days but it is unclear if the family plans to stay in Turkey or head back to Syria.
Tamer’s mum told the local press she was extremely grateful for all the help she received to make sure that her son would receive the life-saving procedure.
When speaking about Tamer since his surgery, she said: “I see a completely different child.”
Living liver transplants are when patients have a part of their liver cut off which is not functioning properly and replacing it with a living donor’s healthy liver. The partial livers eventually regenerate to make one organ and the part that is taken from the donor also regenerates.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Joe Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
