High School Junior Donates Liver to Critically Ill Father: "Saving Dad Is More Important"

Godae Ansan Hospital Conducted Transplant Surgery Earlier This Month
"I Naturally Think It Should Be Donated"

A story has been shared about a high school sophomore son who donated his liver to his father suffering from cirrhosis.

Korea University Ansan Hospital announced on the 31st that a high school junior son donated his liver to save his father, who has been battling illness for a long time. Organ transplant coordinator Nurse Kim Yeji, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Professor Kim Sangjin, and Mr. Im, father and son. (From left)
[Photo by Korea University Ansan Hospital]

Korea University Ansan Hospital announced on the 31st that a high school sophomore son donated part of his liver to save his father, who had been battling illness for a long time. The hospital explained that a living donor liver transplant surgery between the father and son was performed on the 9th, and both the patient and the son are recovering well following the successful operation.

The 49-year-old male patient, Mr. Lee, had been suffering from cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B since 2015. He was taking medication at a nearby hospital, but his condition worsened, and in 2019 he began coughing up blood and started receiving treatment at Korea University Ansan Hospital. In May of last year, he was diagnosed with liver cancer, leading to consideration of a liver transplant.

However, finding a donor for the liver transplant was not easy. Liver transplants are broadly divided into living donor liver transplants and deceased donor liver transplants. The hospital explained that since deceased donor donations are rare in Korea, it is common to find donors among family members. In such cases, adult guardians are usually the donors, but the patient’s spouse, who was the first to be tested, was unable to donate due to a small liver size. The patient’s younger sister also could not donate because she had hepatitis B, and the eldest son was unable to donate due to pneumothorax. The last remaining family member was Mr. Lee’s second son, Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee was 16 years old, which is the legal minimum age for liver donation in Korea. Only those aged 16 and above can donate a liver. However, due to his young age, the surgical risks were higher. The medical team considered waiting until he turned 17 or 18 before proceeding with the transplant as an alternative. But Mr. Lee’s condition was critical, and above all, the son’s strong will to donate his liver was decisive, the hospital said.

The liver transplant surgery team at Korea University Ansan Hospital checked the condition of both patients and immediately proceeded with the surgery. Professor Kim Sang-jin from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery extracted part of the son’s liver, and then Professor Han Hyung-jun transplanted the son’s liver into the patient. The surgery was successfully completed, and the son recovered quickly, being discharged after 11 days. Mr. Lee is also preparing for discharge.

Mr. Lee said, "When I heard that I was the only one in the family who could save my dad, I naturally thought I had to donate my liver. I was a little scared of the surgery, but saving my dad was much more important."

Mr. Lee said, "I am so grateful and proud of my son that words cannot express it. I feel sorry that he had to be hospitalized during an important time for his studies because of the liver donation surgery."

Professor Han Hyung-jun, who performed the transplant surgery, said, "The patient came in with advanced cirrhosis, and despite ongoing treatment, there was a risk of liver cancer recurrence, making transplantation inevitable. Since continuous management after surgery is important, we will do our best in future care to ensure both the patient and donor live healthy lives."

Meanwhile, Korea University Medical Center launched an integrated liver transplant care team (LT-KURE) in 2018, covering three hospitals: Anam Hospital, Guro Hospital, and Ansan Hospital. This has not only resolved manpower shortages but also combined the strengths and surgical expertise of each hospital, resulting in a high success rate for living donor liver transplants.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.