Successful heart transplants for duo thanks to donors and IJN

KUALA LUMPUR: Danielle Kang has received a new lease on life after a miraculous heart transplant.

The teenager’s health problems started in November last year when she was rushed to Pusat Jantung Sarawak in Kuching for treatment before she was transferred to the National Heart Institute (IJN) here on Jan 15.

Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Heart Programme clinical director Datuk Dr Mohd Nazeri Nordin said the Sarawakian’s case was severe.

“She was in quite a bad condition when she came here; her cardiac status remained poor despite ongoing treatment.

“We had an urgent meeting to discuss her condition,” he said.

Kang, 18, was given mechanical support to keep her alive while waiting for a suitable donor.

However, she needed an urgent heart transplant within two weeks.

Fortunately, IJN received a call, and a Fire and Rescue Department helicopter was deployed to rush the donor’s heart from Melaka in the early morning of Feb 25.

The very same day, the heart was successfully transplanted.

“We discharged her to the ward after two weeks in the intensive care unit,” Dr Mohd Nazeri said here yesterday.

Kang missed her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exams due to her condition, and will be sitting for it this year.

“I feel very fortunate that I have my family and doctors to take care of me,” she said.

Another patient, Muhammad Farhan Irfan Mohd Razif, 20, from Melaka also had a successful heart transplant in January.

He was referred to IJN from Hospital Angkatan Tentera Melaka.

He had waited for eight months before a suitable donor was available. “I am on the road to recovery and with a new heart, I can walk farther and feel stronger,” he said.

Meanwhile, IJN chairman Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stressed the urgent need for organ donors.

“Although 382,020 citizens have pledged to donate organs, only 0.002% actually donated.

“When the time came, some families did not consent to the donation,” he said.

He said this during the Second Chance At Life: Successful Heart Transplant Journey event in IJN yesterday.