15-Year-Old Boy In S’pore Needs Liver Donor, Hands Out Flyers On Streets

Boy Needs Liver Donor With Blood Type O+ After Being Diagnosed With Liver Disease

While most 15-year-olds in Singapore are focused on their studies and various hobbies, Goh Boon Heng is awaiting a second liver transplant.

After being diagnosed with end-stage liver failure, he now needs a liver donor urgently.

In search of someone suitable, he has resorted to handing out flyers on the streets with his mother.

Boy had 1st liver transplant in 2017

In an interview with 8world News, his mother Li Meiyun (name transliterated from Mandarin), 44, said Boon Heng’s health woes started when he was just five years old.

The boy, who was born in Malaysia but is now a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis when he sought treatment at the National University Hospital (NUH).

The condition develops when the body’s immune system turns against its liver cells, resulting in liver inflammation.

That meant he had to undergo a liver transplant in October 2017, when he was eight.

At the time, the donor was his mother.

Diagnosed with liver disease, needs 2nd transplant

Having survived the first liver transplant, the family thought Boon Heng had a second chance at life.

However, they were dealt another blow — he was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease at 13 years of age.

This was linked to a condition called primary sclerosing cholangitis in his transplanted liver — meaning his bile ducts were inflamed, causing scarring.

Doctors also found enlarged veins in his stomach and intestine that could rupture at any moment, endangering his life.

For some reason, he also developed eczema.

Due to these conditions, doctors recommended that Boon Heng undergo a second liver transplant as soon as possible.

Boy needs another liver donor, must be blood type O+

Unfortunately, as his mother has donated to him once, she can’t do it a second time.

His father is not a match for him, she said.

Thus, they’re now looking for another donor with blood type O+, as that’s Boon Heng’s blood type.

Boy & mum hand out flyers on the streets

Though they started looking for a donor in April last year, the search has so far been fruitless, Ms Li said.

In desperation, she and Boon Heng took to the streets to hand out flyers to increase their chances of finding a match.

Some people she met while handing out flyers have questioned her, she added.

Potential donors who have questions can contact NUH directly to express their interest in becoming a donor, she maintained.

Family needs S$160,000 for medical bills

Another issue the family faces is Boon Heng’s medical bills.

The liver transplant surgery would cost about S$125,000, Ms Li said.

As they would also have to pay for the donor’s costs, which could come up to S$35,000, they need a total of S$160,000 for the whole procedure.

While Ms Li used to be a clerk, she has no income now as she resigned to take care of her son.

All their expenses are mainly borne by his father, who’s a technician.

Their financial situation is now “quite tight” as they’ve already used up their savings, she said.

A crowdfunding appeal under Give.asia has been launched to raise funds for Boon Heng’s benefit. About S$44,000 have been raised at the time of writing.

Also read: Man In S’pore Seeks Liver Donor For Father In ICU Who May Only Have Days Left

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Featured image adapted from Li Meiyun via 8world News on Facebook.