KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — A 15-year-old Malaysian boy suffering from end-stage liver failure and his mother have taken to the streets of Singapore in hopes of finding a suitable liver donor.
Rather than waiting, Goh Boon Heng, a Singapore permanent resident, and his mother decided to hand out pamphlets explaining his condition to the public in the hopes of finding a suitable donor.
The duo started on January 6 and they have distributed the leaflets around Jurong East, Queenstown and Clementi.
According to Boon Heng’s mother, one person contacted them after they started distributing the pamphlets but was reluctant to undergo a blood test to check if they were a suitable donor.
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She told Mothership that her son was initially diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis when he was five-years-old.
Following the diagnosis, Boon Heng started taking medication in the hopes of controlling the disease, but when it failed, the boy underwent his first liver transplant, donated by his mother in 2017.
Following the successful surgery, Boon Heng returned to school but fate dealt the boy a cruel blow when he was diagnosed with end-stage liver failure with complications of severe portal hypertension at the end of 2022.
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Doctors treating Boon Heng told his family that their son needed urgent liver transplant, ideally within the next three months, failing which, he would face the risk of life-threatening haemorrhages.
Following the news, five people have since come forward and undergone tests but none have proven to be a suitable donor for him.
Boon Heng’s mother was advised against donating a second time, while her husband does not fit the profile required.
The family moved to Singapore in hopes that Boon Heng might have a better chance of being placed on the waiting list.
They are looking for an O+ blood type donor between 21 and 50 years old, with no history of medical conditions.
Boon Heng’s journey to get well can be followed on a Facebook page set up by his mother.
In the latest post, Boon Heng’s mother wrote that her son wishes to continue living.
“Every time when my phone rings, he would rush to me. But when I put down the phone indicating it was not someone wanting to donate their liver, the look of despair on his face breaks my heart.”