HEALTH - KOREA

Sick girl gets new lease on life after 7-organ transplant

FEBRUARY 17, 2012 08:03

“I’d like to eat hamburgers to the fullest as my friends.” This is the wish of Cho Eun-seo, a 7-year-old girl who could not digest food well until a few weeks ago. She used to vomit most of the food she ate. As she absorbed just 30 percent of the food that she did not vomit, she needed injections to get supplemental nutrients. She also suffered from chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction syndrome, a rare disease that afflicts just 10 people in Korea. Just 87 percent of patients survive for a year and 70 percent for four years. The only cure is an organ transplant. Cho, however, had to get transplants for seven organs: liver, pancreas, small intestine, stomach, duodenum, large intestine and spleen. Astonishingly, the young girl has received all of the organs she needs. A team of doctors led by Kim Dae-yeon at Asan Medical Center in Seoul said Thursday that they transplanted seven organs of a brain-dead donor to Cho on Oct. 12 last year. The donor is known to have been a six-year-old brain cancer patient who was pronounced brain dead due to increased cerebral pressure. Kim registered Cho with the Korean Network for Organ Sharing two years ago and prepared for the multiple organ transplant surgery that requires removing almost all of the organs from Cho’s abdominal cavity. The operation took nine hours because it required the removal of nearly all abdominal organs and their replacement with new ones simultaneously. As no hospital in Korea had transplanted more than three organs at the same time, so the prospects of the operation were murky. Cho began eating food through her mouth two weeks after the transplant. One month later, she weaned from nutrient injections and began getting nutrients from meals. She was transferred to a general ward in December last year, and will leave the hospital around Feb. 20. “Due to problems related to blood type and organ size, organ transplants for children is much more difficult than that for adults and the success rate is very low,” Kim said, adding, “Fortunately, the donor’s organs were similar to those of Cho. So the transplant was successful.” Cho’s mother said, “She recovered her laughter while practicing eating food. This is like a dream,” adding, “I thank the medical team for going to great lengths to perform this difficult surgery.” Kim said, “The surgery has given hope to those suffering from rare diseases with low survival rates that they can make a complete recovery,” adding, “It is most glad to me that Cho can return to kindergarten and school.”