Transplant patient's new liver gradually begins to function

SANTIAGO.– Although his prognosis remains very serious, 36 year-old Marcelo Orellana Barraza's condition seems to be improving. His new liver is starting to work slowly after receiving the transplant this past Friday at the Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile in a complicated surgery that lasted eight hours.

The hematologist and physician caring for Marcelo, Jaime Poniachik, indicated that the patient remains "in a very critical, unstable condition. He has had lung failure, kidney failure and cardiovascular failure, yet despite all of this, his liver is slowly beginning to function".

He specified that Marcelo, who is still hospitalized in the ICU, "is still connected to a ventilator, under dialysis and completely sedated, which is why this slight improvement is so important".

According to Poniachik, the complications have arisen because Orellana came into the transplant surgery "in a very dangerous state of health, which is why his progress has been turbulent. But in the face of this, he is getting a little better every day".

The doctor went on to explain that "with the sudden onset of hepatitis, all of the organs can be altered significantly, the immune system fails and the patient becomes defenseless against infections. You cannot be sure that the patient will live, it's still possible for any complication to arise with fatal consequences".