Altruistic donors hard to come by

It's not easy to find an altruistic kidney donor here.

Firstly, it's extremely rare to find someone who is unrelated to the recipient and yet willing to offer his or her kidney.

Then, the donor must have the same blood type as the recipient.

Next, the donor has to pass through a battery of tests which include a medical fitness evaluation, counselling, tests and psychiatric appraisal.

All of these require the donor's commitment as he would have to turn up for his tests and appointments on time.

All these require time and effort, and not many people are willing to make the sacrifices to help someone they don't even know.

The donor also has to be interviewed by the hospital's ethics committee to see if he can donate his kidney.

The transplant ethics committee of the hospital must give a written authorisation for the removal of the donor's kidney.

Then, the donor must give consent for his kidney to be removed from his body and not revoke his consent.

Finally, the donor has to understand the nature and consequence of the medical procedures he has to undergo as a result of his donation.

For Bryan Liu's family, it was almost mission impossible when they started the search for a kidney for him.

His mother, Madam Serene Ng 38, said: "We never thought we would ever find a living donor for him. "But even though we knew it was almost impossible, we still had to give it a try.

"We could not give up because he's still so young."

This article was first published in The New Paper .