Many children who suffer from a rare congenital liver disorder await liver transplants that are required to save their lives, advocates said yesterday.
Biliary atresia, or blockage of the bile duct, affect two out of 10,000 infants on average, said Chang Mei-hwei (
The foundation said that around 50 to 60 infants are born with biliary atresia annually in Taiwan, of which around 20 will require liver transplants to survive.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
At an event held by the foundation yesterday, pediatric surgeons and families of childrens afflicted with biliary atresia called for more people to sign up for organ donation programs.
The foundation also urged new parents to watch for early signs of the disorder such as abnormally pale-colored stools.
If the condition is discovered early enough, surgeons can perform a procedure in which an artificial bile duct is constructed from the child's own intestine in order to drain bile away from the liver into the gastrointestinal system.
However, the surgery -- known as the Kasai procedure -- only has a good likelihood of success if performed before the liver sustains extensive damage from the build-up of bile, said Ni Yen-hsuan (
"The difference in success rate between surgeries completed before 60 days and after 60 days of age is dramatic," he told the press conference.
"However, some children will eventually require a liver transplant even after the Kasai procedure," he said.
Yu Min-lin (
Her eight-month-old baby Lin Yu-ching (
However, Yu said that she fears his liver will deteriorate to the point where he would need a transplant.
"I cannot give him a part of my liver because I am of the wrong blood type. My husband cannot because he is a carrier of hepatitis B, and we do not dare ask relatives because it is such a sacrifice," she said.
Ni estimated that 10 children who require a liver transplant are currently on the waiting list at NTU's hospital alone.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition