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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Hong Kong mother hopes for ‘miracle’ heart donor to save life of baby Cleo
Baby Cleo was born in July, later diagnosed with heart muscle problem and has spent much of her young life in hospital.
The mother of a four-month-old Hong Kong girl suffering from heart failure has made a desperate appeal for a transplant donor in a bid to save her child’s life.
Cleo Lai Tsz-hei has a heart muscle condition that causes the muscle walls to thin and stretch, enlarging the heart chamber.
“It breaks my heart to see so many tubes attached to her, Cleo’s mother, identified only as Lai, on Friday said. “A heart transplant is her only chance of survival.”
Lai was speaking at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where Cleo is being treated.
Cleo’s condition – dilated cardiomyopathy – makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body and she is reliant on drugs and a ventilator to keep her alive.
She had surgery to reduce excessive pulmonary blood flow in mid-October but her condition did not improve.
Lai said her biggest wish was to give her little girl happy memories, even though she has been in and out of hospital since she was 41 days old.
“The nurse sometimes puts us on a video call with Cleo and she smiles when I show her the park, the flowers and the sky,” she said. “I want her to know that there is a lot more to this world than just her hospital ward.”
“It is heartbreaking to see her smiling even though she is going through all this suffering. If she can endure it, we won’t give up hope either.
“We hope there will be a miracle.”
The medical team explained the need for a replacement organ was urgent, and a donor could be of any blood type, but had to weigh between 4.5kg (9.92lbs) and 13kg.
“Finding a suitable donor is the hardest part of this entire process, Dr Lun Kin-shing, the head of paediatric cardiology at the Kowloon-based hospital, said.
“It is difficult to find a fit in Hong Kong, where the child mortality rate is low,” he said. “By widening the criteria, we hope to give Cleo the greatest chance of finding a suitable donor.”
Heart donors in Hong Kong must be pronounced brain dead before the organ can be removed and families have to give consent in cases where candidates are under 18.
Hospital Authority figures showed only eight heart transplants were carried out in Hong Kong last year, down from a peak of 17 in 2018. There are 73 people on the waiting list.
Anyone who can help should contact the Department of Health’s Centralised Organ Donation Register by phone at 2961 8441 or email codr@dh.gov.hk.
The department allocates suitable organs to people on the waiting list.
Cleo Lai Tsz-hei has a heart muscle condition that causes the muscle walls to thin and stretch, enlarging the heart chamber.
“It breaks my heart to see so many tubes attached to her, Cleo’s mother, identified only as Lai, on Friday said. “A heart transplant is her only chance of survival.”
Lai was speaking at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where Cleo is being treated.
Cleo’s condition – dilated cardiomyopathy – makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body and she is reliant on drugs and a ventilator to keep her alive.
She had surgery to reduce excessive pulmonary blood flow in mid-October but her condition did not improve.
Lai said her biggest wish was to give her little girl happy memories, even though she has been in and out of hospital since she was 41 days old.
“The nurse sometimes puts us on a video call with Cleo and she smiles when I show her the park, the flowers and the sky,” she said. “I want her to know that there is a lot more to this world than just her hospital ward.”
“It is heartbreaking to see her smiling even though she is going through all this suffering. If she can endure it, we won’t give up hope either.
“We hope there will be a miracle.”
The medical team explained the need for a replacement organ was urgent, and a donor could be of any blood type, but had to weigh between 4.5kg (9.92lbs) and 13kg.
“Finding a suitable donor is the hardest part of this entire process, Dr Lun Kin-shing, the head of paediatric cardiology at the Kowloon-based hospital, said.
“It is difficult to find a fit in Hong Kong, where the child mortality rate is low,” he said. “By widening the criteria, we hope to give Cleo the greatest chance of finding a suitable donor.”
Heart donors in Hong Kong must be pronounced brain dead before the organ can be removed and families have to give consent in cases where candidates are under 18.
Hospital Authority figures showed only eight heart transplants were carried out in Hong Kong last year, down from a peak of 17 in 2018. There are 73 people on the waiting list.
Anyone who can help should contact the Department of Health’s Centralised Organ Donation Register by phone at 2961 8441 or email codr@dh.gov.hk.
The department allocates suitable organs to people on the waiting list.
