SIBU: The family of a six-month-old baby boy from Sibu, Tino Wong Huan Yen, who has suddenly experienced liver failure and been diagnosed with biliary atresia, is now urgently raising RM200,000 for a liver transplant surgery at Renji Hospital in Shanghai, China.
The baby’s father, Wong Sze Deng, said that due to his son’s worsening liver condition, the situation has become very concerning.
“A recent blood test showed that his bilirubin level has risen to over 400. Doctors have warned that time is running out. Currently, they are vaccinating him and using a feeding machine to pump milk into his body, with the main goal of providing necessary nutrition.
“Our baby was born on March 19 and everything was normal — no jaundice, normal bowel movements. On March 21, we went to a government clinic to check for jaundice and his levels were within the normal range. Even on April 5, the numbers were still decreasing normally, though a bit slowly, so doctors suggested a liver function test.
“The results showed a dangerously high bilirubin level, so we immediately brought him to Sibu Hospital’s pediatric department. The hospital then contacted Sarawak General Hospital’s pediatric surgery team. From late April, he underwent a series of tests and was eventually diagnosed with biliary atresia,” he said in a press release on Tuesday (Sept 30).
Sharing that their eldest daughter and second son are healthy and have no liver issues, Wong stated that since the diagnosis, he has been trying to understand the cause of Tino’s illness.
He has asked doctors and searched online, even watching videos of pediatricians explaining biliary atresia.
“Although this condition has been known for decades, its cause is still not medically confirmed. The incidence is about 1 in 20,000 to 30,000 newborns. All of my wife’s prenatal checkups were normal.”
Since the diagnosis, he and his wife have stayed by their baby’s side in the hospital, given their son needs to take a large number of medications daily and undergo frequent blood tests.
His hands are constantly being pricked with needles, and he cries and struggles in pain — it breaks their hearts to see him suffer without being able to help, and now the baby is severely underweight, with a distended belly.
“We hope to make it through this ordeal. I pray for a miracle so our child can have a second chance at life,” Wong added.
In addition, CCEP (Community Care Enrichment Programme) Foundation Group CEO, Yvonne Yee, who received the appeal for help, said the baby underwent a Kasai procedure on May 27 in Kuching.
However, just one and a half months later, on July 15, doctors informed them that the surgery was unsuccessful and a liver transplant is now urgently required to save his life.
“A HIDA scan performed at the Samarahan Heart Centre in late April also showed that bile was not properly draining into the duodenum, causing his stool to turn white.”
Adding that the baby is underweight, she stated that at six months old, he only weighs 5.7kg, while the Ministry of Health’s standard range is 6.5 to 8kg for this age.
Explaining that he now relies on special formula milk to gain weight quickly, Yee said his parents feed him 40ml of this special formula milk every hour, along with breast milk.
“The baby’s parents flew from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur and immediately admitted him to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre. His mother, Ngu Fui Tin, has taken one year of unpaid leave, while his father has handed over his food stall business operation to his own parents to fully care for their child.
“Wong has turned to us for assistance. Since their son’s hospitalisation, the medical expenses have already exceeded RM5,000, and he is deeply worried about the upcoming surgery costs and travel expenses to Renji Hospital in Shanghai.
“The couple only has a little over RM10,000 in savings, which is not enough to cover the current hospital bills — let alone flight tickets and surgery overseas,” she stated.
Emphasising that the baby’s condition is severe and complicated, requiring immediate surgery at Renji Hospital in Shanghai, the CCEP Poverty Alleviation Foundation will help raise RM200,000 for his liver transplant and urgently calls on the public to lend a helping hand to save this child’s life.
Donations can be made to Bank Account: CCEP FOUNDATION, RHB Bank: 26219300009342, specify the patient’s name: Tino Wong and send donation receipts to: https://wa.link/tzmmgy. Website: https://ccep.org.my
For donors who need a tax-deductible receipt, they can fill in their details at https://forms.gle/jtBWVNUgxxWZJgzp6. Receipts will be issued within 14 days.
For enquiries, contact 010-2798849.
