A 1-year-old girl with a serious heart condition had a heart transplant surgery in the United States, so she held a press conference in Sendai, where her parents spent their school days.
Her expenses skyrocketed due to the rapid depreciation of the yen, estimated at more than 500 million yen, and her parents appealed for cooperation in raising funds.
Aoi Sato (1), who was born in Toshima Ward, Tokyo on October 31st last year, was found to have a hole in the wall of her heart soon after birth, and after two surgeries, she suffered from severe heart failure.
She also said that she underwent artificial heart surgery in June this year, but she is at high risk for infections and other diseases, and she needs to have her heart transplanted as soon as possible.
However, it is unclear whether her transplant in Japan will be realized soon, so her parents held a press conference in Sendai, where she spent her school days, on the 21st, and cooperated in raising funds to receive a transplant in the United States. I asked for it.
However, due to the rapid depreciation of the yen, her surgery and travel expenses soared, and compared to another child who also received a heart transplant in the United States last year, about 530 million, which is 1.5 times that. It means that it is expected to be a yen.
Her father, Shoichiro Sato, said, "Her family is in desperate need of money. I would like to ask for your support to save her daughter's life."
Her parents and support groups are planning to raise funds within the next three months.
1-year-old Aoi needs artificial heart surgery and transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Sato's second daughter, Aoi (1), who lives in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, is currently hospitalized in a hospital in Saitama Prefecture.
Aoi, who was born in Tokyo on October 31 last year, was found to have a hole in the wall of her heart the day after her birth, when it was noted that she was hearing a murmur coming from her heart. .
She underwent two surgeries in January this year to close the hole in her heart, but her heart was unable to pump enough blood and she was diagnosed with severe heart failure.
She was temporarily discharged from the hospital the following February, but she gradually became unable to drink milk and was hospitalized again in April. received.
She just has a high risk of infection with her artificial heart, and she can't leave the hospital.
In order to prepare for a malfunction of her device or a blood clot, her family is also required to attend 24 hours a day, and it is said that mainly her mother, Sayaka, is staying at the hospital.
According to the doctor in charge, Aoi needed a heart transplant, and her parents considered a transplant in Japan, but because it was unclear whether she would be able to receive the surgery early, her parents obtained informal consent for acceptance. I would like to have a transplant operation at a university hospital.
Support from teachers and friends from my parents' college days
In order to realize Aoi Sato's heart transplant overseas, her parents' college teachers and friends gathered and started fundraising activities in Sendai City from the 21st.
Aoi's parents, Shoichiro Sato and Seika, both graduated from Tohoku University and belonged to the American football club.
According to Mr. Nobuhiro Nagano, who was the manager of the American football club at the time, Shoichiro entered Tohoku University in 2000 and was active as a key member of the American football club, leading the team.
In addition, Mr. Seika joined the club as a manager and supported the players, so the two continued to interact with Mr. Nagano even after graduation.
In July of this year, I received a request from her father, Shoichiro Sato, to help raise money for her transplant, and accepted a position as a core member of the support group.
At the support group, friends from the university's American football club, including Mr. Nagano, gathered, as well as Seika's classmates from Sendai City, and about 20 people in Sendai City will donate.
Mr. Nagano said, "I wanted to support the decision that any parent would make, so I agreed to help with the fundraising. When Aoi gets well, I want to hug her tightly."
Mr. Nagano and others will appeal for donations in Sendai City on the 23rd, and will continue activities mainly on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three months, hoping to lead to early transplantation.
It is difficult to receive an organ transplant at an early stage in Japan.
The number of people who have received an organ transplant in Japan in one year remains at just over 2% of all those who desire it, making it difficult to receive an organ transplant in Japan at an early stage.
According to the Japan Organ Transplant Network, there were about 15,800 people who wanted organ transplants as of the end of October, but about 400 people actually received transplants in a year, only 2 of the total applicants. % to 3%.
For this reason, people who want a transplant must wait on a yearly basis, and in the case of heart transplantation, it is said that it takes about 3 years on average.
In addition, in recent years, the number of organ donations themselves has decreased due to the impact of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, such as the shortage of emergency medical sites where doctors and others explain about organ donation, including the heart.
Of these, there were 6 cases of organ donation under the age of 6 in
2019, but
3 cases in the year before, 3 cases
last year, and
3 cases as of the end of October this year.
On the other hand, as of the end of September, 43 people under the age of 10 were waiting for a heart transplant.
Japan Organ Transplantation Network cites the limited number of institutions that donate organs as the background, as well as the lack of understanding of organ donation and the lack of donors.
Comparing the number of organ donors per million population around the world, as of 2020, there are 38.03 in the United States, 9.22 in South Korea, and 0.61 in Japan, less than 10% of them.
On the other hand, especially in the case of children, there are many cases in which it is not possible to wait for a year for a transplant, so there are many people who wish to have a transplant overseas. Less than 118 people have received heart transplants abroad.
However, transplants overseas are not covered by insurance, so the cost is enormous, and the current situation is that the child's family is heavily burdened.