By Kristina Kurlovskaya
“A liver transplant has been conducted on 20 month old Liana Buinovets, from Mozyr, who was poisoned by a death-cap mushroom. The operation was unique, as there was no time to examine Liana’s mother or father as potential donor; fortunately, a liver from an 8 month old child was available,” explains Oleg Rummo, the Director of the Organ and Tissue
National Transplantation Centre and the chief supernumerary transplantologist at Belarus’ Health Ministry.
So far, only one liver transplant has been carried out within the CIS on someone poisoned by a death-cap: at the Minsk Centre on Yevgeny Smirnov, 16, two years ago. “The poisoning damages the liver and leads to death; it’s absolutely impossible to repair the organ, so the only way to save the life of the patient is to replace it,” Mr. Rummo tells us.
The operation lasted about ten hours, attracting 20 doctors and nurses. Liana and her mother are now staying at the Centre’s intensive care department, under doctors’ supervision. “We now know that the operation was a success. We’ve already transplanted 94 livers and have certain experience in the field. The situation is developing as it should. Liana has very good prospects for growing to become a fully-fledged member of our society,” asserts Mr. Rummo.
Belarus has already conducted 175 organ transplantations and, according to Mr. Rummo, 250-270 should have been conducted by the end of the year. He notes that about 60 people are on the waiting list for a new liver. “These are the most serious patients, who cannot live long without an operation,” the doctor explains.
