Transplant surgeons save children’s lives in Venezuela
Jun 3, 2015, 9:18 PM
In this May 8, 2015 photo, six-year-old Yin Carlos is held in his father's, Jean Carlos Fernandez arms before they depart to Caracas' Policlinica Metropolitana for a liver transplant in Caracas, Venezuela. Jean Carlos will donate part of his liver to save his son's life. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Clutching a tiny Bible, Gilda Velasquez leans over her son as he falls asleep with the help of a powerful sedative and a catchy cartoon jingle playing on a hand-held TV.
“Remember, you’re a Christian, you’re a Christian,” she repeats amid her tears to Yin Carlos as orderlies wheel the 6-year-old into the operating room where he will get a new liver.
For any family touched by liver disease, an organ transplant can be a second chance at life. But the procedure is practically a miracle in Venezuela, where an economic crisis makes even needles and acetaminophen scarce.
Yin is benefiting from the efforts of a U.S.-based surgeon and his counterpart in Caracas who have helped save dozens of Venezuelan children with failing livers. The doctors now hope to replicate their success in such a challenging environment as Venezuela and assist hundreds of boys and girls from other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean where pediatric transplants are unavailable.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
