MELAKA, March 19 – A mother is more than willing to donate part of her liver to her baby girl who is stricken with Biliary Atresia (BA) or liver failure, but now what worries her more is that the funds to cover the cost of the surgery are still insufficient.
Noreen Ismail, 35, said about RM180,000 more in funds are needed for her baby Nur Khayla Azzahra Mohamed Khairul Idhham, who is now one year and six months old, to undergo a liver transplant in China.
She said a total of RM250,000 in funds is needed and the surgery has to be done as soon as possible to prevent her daughter’s liver from getting worse and who currently has a high jaundice level of over 300mmol/L (bilirubin level of 17.5 mg/dLa which is a criterion for predicting death or need for liver transplant).
“After undergoing several procedures, my liver was found to be suitable to be given to Nur Khayla and the doctor said that only two per cent of my liver is needed for her in the surgery while her entire liver would be removed.
“Currently no fixed date has been given for Nur Khayla to undergo the surgery as everything depends on the funds successfully collected until it is sufficient,” she told reporters at Taman Desa Baru, Bukit Baru.
Earlier, the family received a visit from Nor Komariah Mohd Khalid Lourdes Lio, 40, or better known as ‘Dak Nor’ who donated RM2,000 from her charity sale of snail (crispy) noodles for (baby) Nur Khayla on social media site TikTok, in addition to a visit from by Melaka Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication Committee deputy chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem.
Noreen said Nur Khayla had undergone the ‘Kasai Procedure’ as a first medical procedure, which was surgery to remove the damaged bile duct and connect a part of the small intestine to the liver, but she cannot survive until adulthood and still needed a liver transplant.
“The specialist doctor also told that Nur Khayla’s condition is now in very good condition and is ready to undergo surgery with a 94 per cent chance of success and recovery.
“Every day I think about Nur Khayla’s fate and as long as she has a chance to recover, of course I am willing to do anything but I really hope we succeed in collecting the necessary funds because I want to see her recover and be healthy like other children,” she said.
Meanwhile, entrepreneur Dak Nor said she was moved after seeing a video of the ailing child and was sympathetic for the toddler’s plight due to the chronic disease.
She said while her RM2,000 donation was not sizeable, it could ease their burden a little, besides pledging to sell more ‘mee siput Muar’ and raya cookies after this to help Nur Khayla.
The public who want to contribute and get more information can contact Noreen at 018-3705480 or channel the donation to Maybank account 569963044145, in the name of her husband, Mohamed Khairul Idhham Khairuddin.
