He donated his liver to a complete stranger

Liver donor hopes to spur kind acts

He sees nothing special about his generosity - for 'everyone is family'

By Salma Khalik, The Straits Times, 12 Mar 2014

HIS wife thought he was joking and his children said he was crazy but that did not deter factory supervisor Chow Wei Lin from donating part of his liver to a little girl he had never even met.

It was an extraordinary act of generosity by any measure but Mr Chow, 48, doesn't see it that way.

He told The Straits Times: "If it had been my children who needed the liver and neither my wife nor I could donate, I would wish for someone to come forward to help."

When he told his family why he was making the donation they swung solidly behind him in support although they still worried that something might go wrong.

His wife, Madam Wong Yoke Peng, 44, a housewife, said: "He asked the children, if it was you in need, won't you want others to help? They had no reply."

Their son, 21, has just finished national service while their 18-year-old daughter is studying at a polytechnic.

Mr Chow, who donated 28 per cent of his liver to Phyllis Poh, 10, last Wednesday, left the National University Hospital (NUH) for home yesterday with orders to avoid strenuous activity for up to eight weeks.

But he intends to return to work in a fortnight because "I'm an active person and can't just do nothing".

It's not that his boss wants him back in a hurry. Mr J.C. Lim - "a very good guy", in Mr Chow's words - has been very supportive and sent him a basket of flowers.

Mr Lim told The Straits Times it's good to have a friend like Mr Chow, adding: "I can't do it. He's very brave."

He also noted that the factory colleagues are supportive and happy to hear that Mr Chow is doing well after the operation.

Phyllis' family has been to visit him and to thank him for being so generous. He has also been to the intensive care ward and gave her a victory sign from outside as the little girl is highly susceptible to infection.

She was weak but gave him a feeble wave, said Mr Chow.

"She's my hero," he said. "I nearly cried when I woke up in pain. But her mother said despite the pain, she has not cried at all. And she's just a small kid."

Mr Chow, who is a Buddhist, said his religion teaches that everyone is family so his donation of part of his liver was nothing special.

And although the surgeon had warned that he faced a 10 per cent to 15 per cent risk of complications and a 1 per cent risk of death, it did not faze him. "Once you have decided on an action, you should just stick to it," he said.

He hopes his example will spur others to do the same. He has done his maths and said if only a fraction of the population would step forward, no one needs to die for the lack of a liver.

There were 51 people waiting for a liver transplant at the end of last year.

The National University Centre for Organ Transplantation at NUH will be promoting organ donation with a booth at the NUH (March 24-25), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (March 26) and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (March 27-28).

Girl's liver donor is an unknown 'uncle'
Man in his 40s only the second in S'pore to give liver to stranger
By Salma Khalik, The Straits Times, 5 Mar 2014

HE HAS never met her, yet he will go under the knife today so that a 10-year-old child will have a chance to live a normal life.

The unnamed man is the second person in Singapore to donate part of his liver to a total stranger. The first, cabby Tong Ming Ming, volunteered part of his organ to civil servant Toh Lai Keng in March last year.

Phyllis Poh, a Primary 5 pupil at Bedok Green Primary School, found a donor after her older brother, Skye, expressed a wish to The Straits Times in November that someone would give an organ to her. Two men came forward, and one of them, who is in his 40s, was a match.

Skye, 12, himself had a liver transplant from his mother in February last year. He went on to complete his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) the same year, though he missed months of school.

Both he and Phyllis suffer from a rare disease that causes their livers to fail or become cancerous, as well as their growth to be stunted.

Their mother, Madam Joanne Ng, 36, a housewife, could not also donate part of her liver to Phyllis, much as she wanted to. Their father, who operates a food stall, is not a match.

Skye found himself in the news when the PSLE results were released, and he took the chance to voice his wish for his sister to find a donor.

Liver transplants from living donors are not as common as kidney transplants, as they carry a higher risk. Last year, there were 12 living liver donors here, compared with 34 for kidney.

A very excited Phyllis said yesterday: "I want to meet the uncle and say thank you and wish him a speedy recovery."

Under organ transplant rules here, the donor and recipient cannot meet before the transplant, but both parties have said they would like to meet, and will likely do so after they have recovered from surgery.

Meanwhile, Phyllis has made him a card, covered with stickers that she treasures specially because "you have given me part of your precious liver".

She entered National University Hospital (NUH) on Monday to prepare for surgery. Her fear was soothed by a thorough briefing from Skye, so she is now only "a little scared".

But more than that, the little girl, who because of her disease is shorter than her healthy seven- year-old sister, is looking forward to a more active life - like that which Skye now enjoys.

Skye has grown by more than 10cm since his transplant last year.

His mother donated her organ when he developed two nodules that doctors said could become cancerous if he did not have a new liver. Yesterday, she said: "I'm so very grateful that Singaporeans have such big hearts, to come forward like this."

Unlike kidney donation which is considered very safe, liver donation carries a higher risk of complications to the donor of 10 to 15 per cent, according to international figures, and the risk of death or a serious problem of 1 per cent.

A spokesman for NUH said the hospital has done close to 50 living donor liver transplants and "we have not had any deaths or serious complications".

Dr Alfred Kow from the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation will lead the team to get the liver, and Professor K. Prabhakaran, head of paediatric surgery at NUH, will transplant the liver into Phyllis.

Mystery liver donor's identity revealed
He gave up smoking to donate part of his liver to girl
By Salma Khalik, The Straits Times, 8 Mar 2014

THE decision to give part of his liver to a little girl he has yet to meet has also given maintenance supervisor Chow Wei Lin a chance at a new beginning.

The 48-year-old, whose identity was revealed only on Thursday, had been smoking up to two packs a day for 30 years. But before going under the knife on Wednesday, he was required to stop lighting up to reduce his risk of respiratory complications, such as lung infection, from the surgery.

"He has taken the opportunity to quit smoking completely, which is very good," said Dr Alfred Kow, who led the team of surgeons. Mr Chow is already eating normally, after the operation.

The surgeon also stressed the years of smoking did not compromise 10-year-old Phyllis Poh's chances to live an almost normal life, thanks to Mr Chow's liver.

Without the transplant, the Primary 5 pupil, who is also doing well but remains in intensive care, would remain stunted and would have been at high risk of getting liver cancer in her teens because of a genetic condition.

Her brother Skye, 12, had the same disease, but received a transplant from his mother last year. She could not donate part of her liver twice. Her husband was not a suitable donor.

So when Skye was featured in the papers for doing well enough in the PSLE to qualify for the Express stream despite missing months of school, he made an appeal. "I hope a living donor will donate a liver to my sister. Nobody else in my family is a match."

Mr Chow, who works in a factory in Yishun, felt touched by what he read and told his wife, 21-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter that he wanted to help.

But that meant having to give up smoking - which his wife said was "tortuous" for him, according to Lianhe Wanbao. He replaced the cigarettes with Hacks sweets and has since gained 5kg.

Less than 30 per cent of his liver was taken since Phyllis is a child. According to Dr Kow, a person can safely donate up to 70 per cent as the liver will regenerate.

Since Mr Chow posted his decision to donate part of his liver on Facebook, his friends have begun calling him a "Living Buddha".

10-year-old's mystery liver donor 'recovering well'
By Salma Khalik, The Straits Times, 6 Mar 2014

THE mystery man who donated part of his liver yesterday morning to a 10-year-old girl he only read about is recovering well.

Dr Alfred Kow, who was in charge of operating on the donor, said the six-hour operation went off smoothly, but the man will need to be closely monitored over the next few days.

But for Phyllis Poh, who received the liver in an eight-hour operation, the next 72 hours will be especially critical, said Professor K. Prabhakaran, who operated on her.

"The surgery went well, with no major issues," he said last night.

Both operations took place at National University Hospital - the national paediatric transplant centre here. A spokesman said NUH has done close to 100 living donor liver transplants with no serious complications since 1990.

Professor Quak Seng Hock, head of paediatric gastroenterology at NUH, has been looking after Phyllis and her 12-year-old brother Skye, who had his own liver transplant last year. He said the road to recovery could last as long as a year.

Following her transplant, Phyllis would need to stay on immuno suppressant drugs to prevent rejection of the liver.

After the first six to 12 months, the dosage of the drugs will be reduced. But until then, she would be susceptible to infections and would have to avoid crowds and wear a mask for the first few months, he explained.

If all goes well, Prof Quak added, "she is expected to be able to attend normal school and take part in normal school activities".

The siblings required new livers because they cannot produce a critical enzyme due to a genetic condition called glycogen storage disease.

The enzyme is needed to break down glycogen - the body's store of sugar. Without it, the glycogen simply accumulates in the liver, where it is stored. This often results in the liver swelling.

The body also cannot use the glycogen to regulate the blood-sugar level, and this affects physical and neurological growth.

That is why the siblings had always been the shortest in their classes.

Because of the condition, they cannot take white sugar and need a regular feed of uncooked starch, such as cornstarch - which they take mixed with water at night before sleeping.

The accumulation of unused glucose in the liver can also cause patients to develop tumours there in their teens, which could become cancerous.

After doctors found two small tumours in Skye last year, it made the need for a transplant - which would provide him with the missing enzyme and normalise his development - more acute. His mother, Madam Joanne Ng, a 36-year-old housewife, gave him part of her liver.

Since his operation last February, Skye has shot up by over 10cm. Before her surgery, Phyllis, a Primary 5 pupil at Bedok Green Primary School, said she hoped that the same will happen to her. She is now shorter than her seven-year-old sister Phoebe, who does not have the disease.

She also said she was looking forward to meeting "the uncle" who gave her part of his liver, to thank him. Before being admitted to hospital on Monday ahead of her operation, she made him a card covered with her favourite stickers.

The man in his 40s did not know the family at all, except for what he read in an article in The Straits Times in November last year about Skye's performance in the Primary School Leaving Examination.

In the report, Skye appealed for someone to help his sister.