In Lviv, doctors conducted a remarkable surgery: a seven-year-old boy named Arthur received two organ transplants — a kidney from his father and a portion of liver from his mother. This is the first combined family transplant for a child with primary hyperoxaluria in Ukraine, as reported by the Lviv City Council press service.
Arthur, from Ivano-Frankivsk, was born healthy but was diagnosed with pelvic sarcoma at the age of two. After exhausting treatment, the cancer receded, but later the boy began suffering from kidney stones. The stones kept recurring, and eventually, both of his kidneys failed. He was placed on dialysis, which he found very difficult to endure.
Only genetic tests sent to Korea revealed the true cause — primary hyperoxaluria. Due to a rare mutation, his liver did not produce an enzyme that prevents oxalate accumulation, leading to the formation of insoluble salts that destroyed his kidneys. The only chance for survival was a transplant of two organs.
The medical team worked in three stages: first, they removed the non-functioning kidneys, then a month later, they transplanted the kidney from his father, and three weeks later, they transplanted a portion of the liver from his mother. For the last operation, Lviv specialists involved colleagues from the National Scientific Center of Surgery and Transplantation named after Shalimov.
Both transplants were successful: the parents' organs began functioning in the child's body. Arthur is now recovering, gaining weight, and returning to a normal childhood life.
The Lviv City Council emphasizes that the city remains a leader in the number of transplants in Ukraine and continues to implement unique surgical practices.