"It was Shanghai Hospital that gave my child hope time and time again." 29 year old young mother successfully donated liver to save her child in Shanghai | Pediatrics | Mother
A 29 year old young mother successfully donated her liver to save her son in Shanghai, and the Children's Hospital affiliated with Fudan University renewed the bond between the mother and son. This morning, Jiajia, who is over 2 years old, recovered and was successfully discharged from the hospital. The young parents presented a plaque and banner to the medical team and sincerely thanked them, "It is you who have given my child hope time and time again!" It is reported that this is also the first breakthrough of Fudan Pediatrics after obtaining the qualification for pediatric liver transplantation, which is of milestone significance.
Jiajia, who is over 2 years old, comes from Zhaotong, Yunnan. Shortly after birth, her family discovered that the boy's jaundice was lingering and she went to multiple hospitals for liver protection treatment without success. Her condition continued to worsen. With the last glimmer of hope, the whole family rushed to the National Children's Medical Center and Fudan University Affiliated Pediatric Hospital. After precise screening by experts, the child was diagnosed with biliary atresia and requires surgical treatment.
Biliary atresia is a progressive and occlusive lesion involving both intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. If left untreated, children may be at risk of life due to liver failure. Professor Zheng Shan's team from Fudan Pediatrics performed surgery two years ago based on the condition of the child, and developed a detailed medication treatment plan after the surgery. The child's jaundice significantly improved, and the family saw hope for life.
Two years passed quickly, and as the whole family gradually breathed a sigh of relief, misfortune struck again. Not long ago, Jiajia experienced symptoms such as skin itching, fever, and jaundice again due to viral infection, and her liver function rapidly declined. My parents traveled a thousand miles from Yunnan to Shanghai again. After systematic evaluation, the child's direct bilirubin has exceeded the normal reference value several times, accompanied by severe liver cirrhosis symptoms such as splenomegaly, esophageal and gastric varicose veins, and significant left liver atrophy. The condition is severe and urgently requires liver transplantation treatment.
The Fudan Pediatric Liver Transplantation Team conducted pre transplant evaluations for young parents after sufficient communication with their families. After multidisciplinary discussions and ethical review, it was ultimately decided that the mother of the affected child would donate a portion of the liver for a paternal liver transplant.
Under the coordination of functional departments such as the medical department and nursing department, the young mother was successfully admitted to the ward and underwent evaluation and examination according to the established plan. On the morning of June 14th, Jiajia and her mother were respectively pushed into the operating room, and the two surgeries were carried out simultaneously. With the support of Professor Wang Zhengxin's team at the Liver Transplantation Center of Huashan Hospital, the departments of Pediatric Liver Transplantation and Anesthesiology at Fudan worked together for 6.5 hours to successfully complete the live liver transplant.
Throughout the surgery, laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery was successfully performed to remove and obtain the mother's left lateral lobe liver; Jiajia's swollen and hard diseased liver was successfully removed. Two teams of experts worked closely together, and 260 grams of donor liver underwent lavage, trimming, and fine microsurgical operations to anastomose the delicate liver blood vessels of the child, successfully implanting them into the child's body. The ultrasound team repeatedly checked and confirmed that the vascular anastomosis was very smooth, and the implanted liver gradually regained its rosy color. After surgery, medical staff from the intensive care department, general surgery department, and liver disease department worked closely together, and the mother and son were discharged from the hospital after 1 week and 3 weeks of recovery, respectively. At present, the liver function of the patient has recovered well.
"I believe every mother will make the same choice as me." This morning, the young mother told reporters that she felt relieved to see her son's recovery. "I can't even name many doctors and nurses, they are all lifesaving benefactors for our whole family!"
It is reported that as early as 20 years ago, Fudan Pediatrics and Comprehensive Hospital conducted multiple cases of pediatric liver transplantation, accumulating rich clinical experience. At present, Fudan Pediatrics, as the only pediatric specialty hospital in Shanghai with qualifications for heart, liver, and kidney transplantation, as well as the only National Children's Medical Center with such qualifications, has received support from the National Health Commission's clinical specialty construction project for pediatric transplant medicine. So far, 28 pediatric kidney transplants have been completed. Professor Wang Yi, the dean, stated that the first liver transplant has achieved significant breakthroughs, representing a new level of clinical treatment for difficult and critical illnesses in the hospital. In the future, the National Children's Medical Center will continue to provide top quality medical services to patients across the country.
