New liver transplant from a living donor: From Ioannina, the mother who gave life to her daughter

After the father-daughter pair from Crete, donor and recipient respectively, the touching scene was repeated with a mother and her daughter from Ioannina

Three months after the first liver transplantation from a living donor in our country, and at the Laiko Hospital, the scientific team led by the Professor of Surgery and Transplantation of the School of Medicine of the National University of Athens, Scientific Head of the Liver Transplantation Unit of Laiko, Mr. George Sotiropoulos, repeated the medical achievement.

After the father-daughter couple from Crete, donor and recipient respectively, who welcomed 2024 with a new perspective on life, thanks to the transplantation of 23-year-old Eleni with a graft from her father Spyros, the touching scene was repeated with a mother and her daughter from Ioannina.

The second liver transplant from a living donor took place last Friday, and now, as ygeiamou.gr informs, donor and recipient are recovering smoothly in Laiko.

The 42-year-old mother donated the right lobe of her liver to her 21-year-old daughter, who suffered from liver cirrhosis due to cystic fibrosis. The 21-year-old was diagnosed with fibrocystic disease at the age of 4 months.

She remained almost asymptomatic from the lungs for years, but at the age of 15 years she started to have symptoms. Shortly afterwards, liver cirrhosis was diagnosed and her lung function became impaired after a coronavirus infection.

The young patient is being followed up for cystic fibrosis at the Sismanoglio Hospital (by the pulmonologist Mrs Diamantea) and for liver cirrhosis at the Laiko Hospital (by the hepatologist Mr Hologita).

Reportedly, the first liver transplant from a living donor, which had been performed earlier this year, gave the 42-year-old woman the impetus to explore the medical solution of transplantation to her daughter’s problem.

The contact with Laiko and Professor Sotiropoulou’s team was immediate and all the procedures foreseen by the relevant protocol for this transplant were initiated.

Everything went smoothly, both with the removal of the donor’s right liver lobe and its transplantation to the 21-year-old patient.
Mother and daughter were treated in the ICU, without the need for intubation, after the surgery.

In fact, the 42-year-old woman has been hospitalized in the Transplant Ward since yesterday, where her daughter is expected to be transferred today.

The contribution of the hospital’s staff was crucial – and could not have been otherwise – to prepare and complete this demanding and difficult transplant.

“Many people came in off-duty in order to operate an extra operating room last Friday.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the medical and nursing staff at the Laiko Hospital who were involved in the whole process.

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I especially thank my fellow surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensivists, hepatologists, hematologists and radiologists, nurses in the operating room, anesthesia department, intensive care unit and transplant ward, the transplant coordinators, the paramedical and technological staff and the hospital’s management for their efforts and the important contribution of each of them from their positions,” he tells ygeiamou. gr the professor, Mr. Sotiropoulos.

Finally, he considers important the contribution of the press to the promotion of transplantation, as it opened a channel of communication with science and society for such a critical issue.