Abu Dhabi: Noah Al Sayed is only beginning to explore the world around him as a four-month-old.
But his parents are already worried about his future, as a liver transplant is the only way their son will be able to grow up.
Diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition marked by incompletely developed ducts in the liver, Noah has already undergone a procedure to replace the blocked ducts that are preventing the flow of bile from his gall bladder to the liver.
The surgery was unsuccessful, and doctors have now said that a liver transplant is the only definitive, lifesaving treatment.
“It would be an understatement to say that we are worried sick. Noah is our firstborn, and we never imagined dealing with such a challenge when he was born,” Mohammad Al Sayed, 30, an accountant from Egypt, told Gulf News.
Noah was born on March 20, 2018 weighing a healthy 2.84kg, and it was difficult to tell that anything was wrong. Soon after delivery, he was diagnosed with neonatal jaundice, a fairly common condition for new-borns, and his parents hoped it would soon subside.
But even after two weeks, when his belly remained swollen, Al Sayed and his wife became worried. “We took him back to the doctors, and they told us that the ducts in his liver were blocked. They hoped that a surgery known as the Kasai procedure would work as a fix, but this did not turn out to be the case,” Al Sayed said.
- Mohammad Al Sayed | Boy’s father
A recent report from the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City that was shown to Gulf News deems the liver transplant as ‘lifesaving’.
Without [a transplant], the liver function will deteriorate and eventually the liver will fail, leading to possible death. [Paediatric] liver transplantation is not available…in the UAE, but is available overseas in certain centres with extensive experience in paediatric liver transplantation, such as the Global Hospitals Group in India,” the report reads.
Al Sayed has already been in touch with the healthcare facility in India, and the cost of the surgery has been quoted as $37,000 (Dh135,900).
“I am the sole breadwinner for my family, and as an accountant, I only bring home Dh5,000 a month. I am at a loss about how to save my son’s life, even as my wife is a match for him and is more than willing to donate a portion of her liver,” the concerned father said.
A local charity has agreed to donate Dh50,000 towards the procedure, but Al Sayed doesn’t know how to fund the remaining amount. “I cannot bear to see my son’s life at such risk, and we haven’t even been able to savour the joy of parenthood with him,” Al Sayed said.
