Latest news with #livertransplant
Khaleej Times
27-05-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
A UAE first: One donor liver, two lives saved in groundbreaking split liver transplant at King's College Hospital Dubai
The hospital pioneers the nation's first split liver transplant, saving both an infant and an adult patient In a groundbreaking achievement, King's College Hospital London in Dubai has successfully performed the UAE's first split liver transplant, using a single donor liver to save the lives of two patients - a six-month-old baby and an adult. This highly complex, life-saving procedure marks a major milestone in the advancement of transplant surgery in the region. The cadaveric liver was divided in a highly specialised process known as in-situ splitting, allowing for two separate liver transplants to take place simultaneously in two operating theatres. One third of the liver was transplanted into a six-month-old infant, weighing only 6 kilograms, suffering from biliary atresia, while the remaining two-thirds was successfully transplanted into an adult patient diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis. "This is unique because this was the first time a liver was divided and shared between an adult and a pediatric patient in the UAE," said Professor Mohamed Rela, director of King's College Hospital Dubai liver transplant centre of excellence, liver surgeon and transplantation. "The donor operation itself is very complicated, because the liver has to be divided during the donor retrieval, and the technique is called 'in-situ splitting' two transplants have to take place at the same time in two operating theatres with two teams of surgeons. Both patients are doing really well, off the ventilator and are not in a critical state any longer." The pediatric patient was referred to King's at five months of age with jaundice that had developed during the second week of life. The condition had progressed rapidly, and the child's liver was failing. The split liver transplant was successfully performed at six months of age, and the infant is now stable with normalising liver function tests. Dr Rajeev Tomar, consultant pediatrician and director of the pediatric liver transplant programme at King's College Hospital London in Dubai, stated: "This was a very delicate case involving a young baby whose condition was deteriorating rapidly. The success of the surgery and the positive recovery are a testament to the expertise of our transplant team and the integrated approach we take between pediatric and adult care." Leading the adult transplant team, Dr Kaiser Raja, consultant hepatologist and director of the adult liver transplant programme at King's, added: "Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a progressive and serious liver disease with no cure except liver transplantation. By successfully performing a split liver transplant and using one organ for two recipients, we've not only made transplant surgery more efficient, but have also proven that it's possible to expand access to lifesaving treatment in the UAE." The success of this case reinforces King's College Hospital's position as a regional leader in liver transplantation, combining internationally renowned expertise with local innovation. The hospital's Liver Transplant Centre of Excellence is one of the few in the region equipped to perform such advanced procedures with a fully integrated multidisciplinary team. "We are proud to have achieved this milestone in the UAE," added Professor Rela. "This is not only a triumph for medical science but also a symbol of what is possible when world-class care and collaboration come together." King's College Hospital Dubai extends its deepest gratitude to the donor family, who made this life-saving procedure possible. The hospital also acknowledges the vital support of the Hayat National Programme for Organ Donation and Transplantation and the National Center for Organ Donation and Transplantation, whose coordination and commitment continue to transform lives across the UAE.
Free Malaysia Today
22-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
6-month-old Hana needs funds for urgent liver transplant
Hana Chin, who has been diagnosed with biliary atresia, needs to undergo a liver transplant within the next three months. (CCEP Foundation pics) PETALING JAYA : At just six months old, Hana Chin is already fighting for her life. She has been diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease in which the bile ducts in her liver are blocked. This causes bile to build up, damaging the liver beyond repair. To survive, baby Hana urgently needs a liver transplant – a procedure that comes with the daunting cost of RM250,000 for her family. Her mother, Toy Ka Wei, recalls how this harrowing journey began. 'When she was born, I was overjoyed. I remember holding her for the first time, watching her tiny fingers wrap around mine,' Toy said. Like all new mothers, Toy thought she had a lifetime ahead with her firstborn. But just weeks later, her world came crashing down. After completing her confinement period, Toy took her daughter in for routine vaccinations. It was then that a nurse noticed Hana was visibly jaundiced. 'At first, I thought it was the usual newborn yellowing,' Toy said. A subsequent blood test revealed her bilirubin levels were far higher than they should be for her age. 'We were then told her liver was likely inflamed. We were referred from one hospital to another and, after more tests, the doctors gave us the diagnosis: biliary atresia.' When she was only 48 days old, Hana underwent her first major surgery, known as the Kasai procedure, to help her liver drain bile and prevent further damage. Sadly, the surgery didn't work – and Hana's liver is now deteriorating fast. 'The doctors have told us we only have a window of three months to get her the lifesaving liver transplant she needs. Any longer and her condition may become too severe for surgery,' said Toy. 'The thought of losing her before she even learns to walk or say her first word breaks me,' she added. Hana's parents are urgently appealing for help to raise RM250,000 for her liver transplant. (CCEP Foundation pic) Thankfully, Toy has been identified as a compatible donor for her daughter. Hana has been referred to Renji Hospital in Shanghai, a leading paediatric transplant centre with one of the highest success rates in the world. However, the cost – which covers surgery, pre-operative tests and post-operative care – is beyond what the family can afford. 'My husband works in customer service, earning around RM6,000 a month, and we are now relying solely on his salary. With our daughter's growing medical needs, we're struggling to make ends meet,' Toy shared. She explained that she had to stop working after her daughter was born to care for her full-time. 'What started as maternity leave became a daily commitment of managing her feeds, medication, and hospital appointments. 'Now that she's critically ill and hospitalised, I'm by her side every day and I can't imagine being anywhere else.' To raise the funds, they have the help of CCEP Foundation, an NGO that helps the poor, needy, deprived and underprivileged. According to its CEO, Yvonne Yee, fundraising began on May 17, and as of May 20, they have successfully raised RM30,000. Much more is needed, and time is of the essence. 'We are humbly reaching out to ask for your help. Your donation, no matter the amount, will go directly towards giving my daughter the medical treatment she urgently needs to survive,' Toy concluded. To help Hana, donations can be made directly to CCEP Foundation, RHB Bank account number 2621 9300 009 342. Please use the reference 'Hana Chin'. If you require a receipt, kindly send a WhatsApp message. Learn more about CCEP Foundation here, or contact 03-7955 9999 / 010-279 8849.
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Riyadh hospital performs first pediatric robotic liver transplant
RIYADH: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh has performed a liver lobe transplant on an eight-year-old child using an advanced robotic surgical system, with the patient being discharged after just two weeks. Although the procedure was complicated due to the child's small size and limited space for surgical access, the center's experience with robotic organ transplants in adults enabled the technology to be adapted. A tailored surgical plan was developed, which involved repositioning the robotic entry points, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. Prof. Dieter Broering, executive director of the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence and lead surgeon, said: 'Robotic surgical techniques have traditionally been limited to adults, but we succeeded in adapting them for children, offering exceptional precision and a marked reduction in complications. 'The transplant required redesigning the surgical approach to suit the child's small body and confined space, which we addressed by meticulously adjusting the entry sites for the robotic tools to ensure maximum safety.' The operation sets a groundbreaking example for expanding the use of robotic surgery in pediatric care. The technology offers precise control, reduces complications and enhances safety, paving the way for the future development of child-specific robotic surgical systems. It is the latest milestone that positions King Faisal Centre as a global leader in robotic surgery. The hospital has previously carried out the world's first fully robotic heart transplant and the first robotic liver transplant.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Baby Cared for by 80 Different Nurses During 185-Day Hospital Stay While Awaiting Lifesaving Transplant (Exclusive)
At 2 months old, Mattie Beacham was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called biliary atresia and needed a liver transplant to save her life She spent 185 days at Orlando's AdventHealth for Children, where every one of the 80 nurses in the hospital's critical care unit cared for her in some way After a difficult journey, Mattie underwent a successful liver transplant, and her parents credit the hospital's nurses for fighting for their daughter "as if she were their own"It takes a village — or in this case, a "warrior squad" of 80 determined nurses. When Allison and Michael Beacham brought their then-2-month-old baby daughter Mattie to Orlando's AdventHealth for Children, she was critically ill and battling for her life. Diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease of the liver and bile ducts that affects infants, Mattie needed a lifesaving liver transplant. But initially, she was too sick to even be placed on the waitlist. "Her liver was dying by the hour," Allison recalls to PEOPLE. "Michael and I spiraled, entering a new dimension of flight, advocacy and, of course, fear." Mattie would spend 185 days — half a year — in the hospital, during which time every single one of the 80 nurses who worked in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) cared for her in some way. Those nurses never stopped fighting for Mattie, even as her situation seemed hopeless. At her sickest, Mattie's organs began shutting down and she went into a coma. Eventually, her heart stopped. Medical staff performed CPR and brought her back, but Allison and Michael were given some heartbreaking news. "Chaplains repeatedly came in with the doctors telling us that Mattie would not last more than four hours and that it was time to let her go," Allison says. "But it wasn't time for consolation yet; it was time for battle." While Mattie remained in a coma, Allison remembers finding solace in morning runs outside the hospital before rounds began in Mattie's unit. "I'd jog and reflect and pump myself up to be the best mom and advocate that I could possibly be as I came to terms with the dire reality," she says. But she and Michael were far from alone. Their daughter's team of dedicated doctors and nurses rallied around them through it all. "Joe, Amanda, Kim, Niki, Caila, Eric, Hannah … instead of being 'another nurse in scrubs,' they became Mattie's warrior squad, determined to find solutions to one of the most complicated patients in the history of the liver transplant program," Allison tells PEOPLE. "They wept, they nurtured, they even laughed with us at brief moments of levity," she continues. "Their wet brows and huddles assured us they were thinking outside of the box to bring back to life our precious, unresponsive angel, who was still only alive artificially." Even nurses who were not part of Mattie's care team showed their support. "Nurses who weren't assigned to Mattie on day or night shift asked to be with her. Nurses not in the Critical Care Unit would come visit in between their patients," Allison says. "The AdventHealth team understood us, respected us and fought for Mattie as if she were their own." Never giving up, the nurses even pushed to try experimental or never-before-used treatments on Mattie. "One of the nurses — Amanda [Hellner] — helped engineer a tandem dialysis and plasmapheresis machine that had only been done once in the country, according to them," Allison says. "The doctors initially didn't want to try it as the risks were too great. But the nurses rallied with us and convinced the administration to try this unknown and unproven technique." 'It really tested us as a PICU," nurse Nikki Sapp says. "But if there's something we can do, we're going to try, and sometimes that one treatment that we've never done is what is going to save their life." The risky technique worked — and proved to be a turning point for Mattie, who eventually stabilized and grew healthy enough to undergo the transplant surgery once an organ match was found. Hellner, the PICU's nurse educator at the time, remembers being in the room when Mattie opened her eyes for the first time following the 10-hour procedure. "It's just one of the moments you live for as a nurse, and that was one I'll never forget,' she says. 'I'll carry that always with me in my career. She's become part of my why.' These days, Mattie — who turned 2 in December — is "the happiest human," according to her proud mom. "She finds boo-boos on us that we don't even know we have. She hugs strangers' legs. She kisses even when she shouldn't," Allison says. "She blows kisses to everyone at AdventHealth." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. As for the toddlers' nurses? They are forever "family" to the Beachams. "They've come to two of her birthday soirées and blew the roof off of our house. The parties were as much of a celebration of Mattie's birthday as they were a celebration for her healthcare heroes," Allison tells PEOPLE. After Mattie's experience, Allison says she has newfound appreciation for the work that nurses do and the dedication and compassion they show — both to their patients and their families. "My reason for even existing has changed, thanks to learning, feeling and understanding how nurses are wired. To work 12 hours with some of the most intense and complicated situations imaginable —nurses bring perspective to how we want, and should, live our lives," Allison says. Read the original article on People
Associated Press
08-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
OrganOx Announces Second Private Placement Closing, Investments by Intuitive Ventures and Terumo Ventures
OXFORD, England and MADISON, N.J., May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OrganOx Ltd., a leading organ medical technology company, completed a second closing of its private placement with investments from Intuitive Ventures, Terumo Ventures, and Piper Heartland Healthcare LLC. Together with the first closing of its private placement on February 24, 2025, OrganOx raised $160 million in primary and secondary equity financing to accelerate growth opportunities for its metra ® platform technology in the large and high growth organ technology global market. Approved in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia, the OrganOx metra ® is a normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) platform technology utilized in over 5,000 liver transplants to date. The metra ® keeps donor livers in a metabolically active state outside the body, providing transplant teams with the opportunity for functional assessment of the organ prior to transplant which leads to an increased number of organs available for transplant, while also extending liver preservation times as compared to static cold storage. The company is also expanding its metra ® technology for kidney transplants, currently in development, and in collaboration with eGenesis, recently gained FDA clearance to begin a first-in-human clinical study of the use of its metra ® technology combined with eGenesis' genetically engineered porcine livers to support patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure. 'It is an honor and a privilege to have Intuitive Ventures and Terumo Ventures invest in OrganOx,' said Oern R. Stuge, MD, MBA, Executive Chairman at OrganOx. 'Our board and management team look forward to working together with these industry leaders to further advance our organ technologies that save patient lives.' Piper Sandler acted as exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins acted as legal counsel to OrganOx in this transaction. About OrganOx OrganOx is a commercial stage organ technology company, spun out of the University of Oxford in 2008, dedicated to developing technologies to improve outcomes for patients with acute or chronic organ failure. The OrganOx metra ® is a normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) platform approved in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia. It has been utilized in over 5,000 liver transplants to date to keep donor livers in a metabolically active state outside the body enabling longer preservation times and functional assessment of the organ prior to transplant, leading to an increased number of organs available for transplant. Learn more at About Intuitive Ventures Intuitive Ventures invests in companies reimagining the future of minimally invasive care. Our global focus spans diagnostics, MedTech, therapies, and digital health. With $250 million in assets under management, we back teams that share our passion for advancing positive patient outcomes, improving provider experience, and increasing the efficiency of healthcare delivery. Intuitive Ventures' experience as operators and clinicians combined with unique access to Intuitive Surgical's technical and commercial reach enables our portfolio companies to revolutionize the delivery of patient care. More information and future updates can be found at: About Terumo Ventures Terumo Ventures was founded as a corporate venture capital fund to drive Terumo's growth through strategic funding. Terumo Ventures invest in companies providing innovative solutions that achieve Terumo's Group Mission: 'Contributing to Society through Healthcare.' More information and future updates can be found at: Contacts OrganOx Investor Relations: Steve Deitsch Chief Financial Officer, OrganOx [email protected] OrganOx Media: Emma Yang Health+Commerce [email protected]
