A Gift of Life

Finding a liver donor proves to be a daunting task in the Philippines as more and more Filipinos are afflicted with end-stage organ failure. With transplantation as their only chance for survival, patients who are gravely ill wait for weeks or months on end for a viable organ. About one person dies each week while waiting for the lifesaving transplant.

Oliver (not his real name) was 23 years old when he discovered that he had liver cirrhosis, a debilitating disease that would eventually lead to liver failure and death. The only long-term cure was a liver transplant.
But finding a liver donor proved to be a daunting task in the Philippines as more and more Filipinos are afflicted with end-stage organ failure. With transplantation as their only chance for survival, patients who are gravely ill wait for weeks or months on end for a viable organ. About one person dies each week while waiting for the lifesaving transplant.
After more than three months of searching for a donor, Olivers family met Dr. Vanessa De Villa, a Filipino transplant surgeon based in Taiwan. Dr. De Villa introduced them to a liver transplant specialist in the Philippines, Dr. Carlo J. Ramirez, a doctor who trained under Dr. Thomas Starzl, the world-renowned transplant surgeon and pioneer of liver transplant.
In the United States, a liver transplant would cost $200,000 to $500,000. Getting the transplant in Philippines would reduce the cost considerably. Moreover, Dr. Ramirez assured them that the National Kidney & Transplant Institute is fully equipped for the transplant. Oliver was enlisted in Human Organ Preservation Effort (HOPE) waiting list.

Room for HOPE

   HOPE, the organ procurement arm of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, was created in 1983 to advocate organ and tissue donation. It sources out organs from donors through its network of government and private hospitals across the Philippines. It recovers not only kidneys, but also other organs including the liver, lungs, heart, and pancreas, and tissues such as corneas, bones, heart valves, and skin. HOPE makes sure that the recovered organs and tissues reach other transplant centers and tissue banks.
   Because of the scarcity of donors, HOPE considers and screens living donors who in, the spirit of altruism, voluntarily donate their kidney to patients. To facilitate donations, HOPE offers assistance in any form to the donor family. It also provides logistic support to its network of hospitals to maximize its referral system.
Most importantly, HOPEs organ recovery service is available 24 hours a day and transplant coordinators are always on call to respond to referrals.
Two of these coordinators, Ma. Nisan T. Manauis and Mariela Orioste, learned that a crime victim had expired in a hospital in Tondo, Manila. Knowing the urgency of recovering transplantable organs, they sought the consent of the victims family who wanted their loved one to continue living in some way.

Saving lives

It took Dr. Ramirezs team 16 hours to finish the liver transplant and another three weeks for Olivers recovery. In the end, Oliver had a new liver and a new chance at life.
A month and a half after the successful transplant, Oliver and the widow of the donor met for the first time. Words were not enough to describe the emotions felt by everyone who was at the meeting.
Today, Oliver is on his second year as a transplant patient. He now lives in Singapore, working in a foundation that supports the same cause. He hopes to save lives as his own life was saved.
Back in the Philippines, HOPE continues to work towards its vision of becoming an independent organ procurement organization. Through community outreach services, it educates more Filipinos about the nobility of organ and tissue donation and encourages them to become donors themselves. With dedication and hard work, HOPE intends to give the gift of life to many more Filipinos.