Kuantan Medical Graduate Donates Liver To Primary School Teacher He "Used To Hate"
His father was initially hesitant about the decision.
By Alyssa J. Oon — 27 Sep 2018, 04:35 PM
A 25-year-old medical graduate, who hails from Kuantan, recently donated 67% of his liver to a former primary school teacher he once "hated"
The donor, Jerome Chin Ze Rong, told The Star that his former teacher Leong Fong Peng would bring her cane everywhere and discipline him "quite a lot".
Though, Chin also admitted he was "not one of her best students".
"I hated the teachers who hit me but after I left school, I started to appreciate those who paid attention to me," he said.
54-year-old Leong had been diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis (liver failure) and was recommended to undergo a liver transplant at National University Hospital, Singapore
Leong's daughter, Krystal Teh, made an appeal to Yayasan Nanyang Press for donations to cover the cost of RM1 million needed for the surgery.
Besides covering the costs, Teh also appealed for liver donors.
Although eight volunteers stepped up, all were found to be an unsuitable match for Leong.
Chin, who is classmates with Teh, found out about the appeal a few days after it went up and decided to offer to donate his liver.
Chin's father initially had reservations about allowing Chin to proceed with the donation
"I told him I studied this, I know what I'm doing, and it will be fine. I think me being in the medical field helped convince him," Chin told The Star.
On the Yayasan Nanyang Press website, it says, "The liver is the only organ that can regenerate or rebuild itself. After the transplant, the livers in both donor and recipient will grow back to normal size in about two months."
Although the liver transplant went well, Leong had to undergo an unplanned three-hour surgery yesterday, 26 September, to determine the cause of an internal bleeding
Teh updated Yayasan Nanyang Press Medical Aid, to which they shared on their Facebook page that Leong was readmitted into intensive care on 25 September.
According to the post, Leong had begun to cough blood, her fever spiked, and red blood cell count dropped.
Following the procedure, doctors have confirmed that Leong's bile duct and its surrounding blood vessels are fine though the actual cause of the bleeding is unknown. Teh is currently waiting for lab report, which will be released in the next few days.
With the readmission, Leong's medical bill will likely increase from the initial estimation of RM1 million
The public can help cover the additional costs of Leong's treatment by sending donations to:
Yayasan Nanyang Press
001-001-81032 (Hong Leong Bank)
Swift code for Hong Leong Bank: HLBBMYKLXXX
For more information, contact Yayasan Nanyang Press on their Facebook page.