A 45-year-old Singaporean man slipped into a coma on Christmas Day after he was diagnosed with acute liver failure.

His family has been desperately seeking a living donor in an attempt to save his life .

Sudden failure

The technician Desmond Lee, 45, a father of two young children, aged four and seven, began to experience diarrhoea and vomiting on Dec. 12.

However, it was only on Dec. 22 that he saw a doctor.

Following a series of tests at Sengkang General Hospital, he was diagnosed with liver failure caused by a viral infection due to a pre-existing Hepatitis B condition.

He was then transferred to Singapore General Hospital on Dec. 24.

His family was told that his condition was critical and that he was in urgent need of a liver transplant.

Shin Min spoke to the man's wife, Jacqueline Huang, who said her husband was semi-conscious on Christmas Day, and was unable to recognise family members.

In order to prevent his condition from worsening, Huang said, Lee has been heavily sedated and is now being treated in the intensive care unit.

Huang is now urgently seeking living liver donors aged between 18 and 50, who are not on long-term medication, with no major health concerns or history of cancer, and preferably no major past surgical history.

Mothership spoke to a friend of Lee, a man surnamed Huat, who added that Lee would require a donor who has O+ blood type, and also having roughly the same build as Lee, who is about 80kg and 175cm tall.

Five family members

Huat also said he hoped a donor would step forward as soon as possible in order to save Lee’s life, especially as he has an elderly mother, sister, wife, and two young children whom he is supporting.

Huat and Lee met while part of a Singapore car club, the Camry Club Singapore.

Huat said the club has banded together to try to assist Lee’s family in this time, especially in helping spread the word of Lee’s condition, as well as helping transport Lee's mother and sister between their home and the hospital.

Huat described Lee as a helpful member of the club and that the club members are shocked to see his condition deteriorate rapidly.

Lee requires a living donor as he is no longer on the organ donor list, and is unlikely to be able to receive a deceased person's liver anytime soon.

The family was hoping to appeal, but was told it might take up to two years to change the status, time that Lee does not have.

Huat also said he was concerned that it would take a significant amount of time to fulfil the procedures and requirements to find a matching living donor.

Regeneration

According to the National University Hospital’s information page about liver transplants, it is possible to transplant only a part of the liver, as the liver has the unique ability to regenerate itself within a few weeks.

That meant that when a surgeon removed a piece of a donor's liver, the part that remained would quickly grow back to its original size.

Due to new surgical techniques and medications, the success rate of liver transplantation in Singapore is quite high.

The National University Centre for Organ Transplant, cited a figure of more than 90 per cent of the patients as continuing to do well a year after transplant.

In Singapore, a living liver donation can be from relatives, friends, and as well as strangers.

For deceased donor liver donation, organs are retrieved from deceased donors under the Human Organ Transplant Act.

Huat also mentioned that the family had been inundated with contacts, but that a significant number of those had been scam or spam attempts.

Shin Min reported that three people had come forward to see whether they would be eligible for liver donation so far.

However two had been deemed ineligible, with the final possible donor’s status currently indeterminate.

Top image via Mothership reader