People give money to man who donated liver to grandson

On Tuesday afternoon, a middle-aged couple visited Zhang Jiashun in the Wuhan Union Hospital in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, and gave the 59-year-old 500 yuan ($81.70) without leaving their names.

They said it was in appreciation of Zhang Jiashun's donation of part of his liver to save his 7-year-old grandson Zhang Zhiyi, who suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, according to Wuhan Evening News.

The paper said kind-hearted people donated a total of 5,000 yuan to the Zhangs on a single day on Tuesday.

Zhang Zhiyi was born into a farmer's family in Zaoyang, Hubei, in August 2006. When he was 1 year old, his parents went to work as migrant workers in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. He has been taken care of by his grandfather since.

In June and July, Zhang Zhiyi ran a low fever frequently but his grandfather was so preoccupied with his work in the fields he took it for granted.

On Aug 1, Zhang Zhiyi had a fever of 39 C. A doctor in the village clinic gave him medicine but it did not bring down the fever.

The next day, Zhang Jiashun took his grandson to the Zaoyang No l People's Hospital where the boy was diagnosed as suffering from liver cirrhosis, causing ascites.

“I was told his days were numbered,” Zhang Jiashun told Chutian Jinbao, a newspaper in Wuhan.

Zhang Zhiyi's 34-year-old father Zhang Chuanhu returned to Zaoyang immediately. On Aug 6, he sent his son to the Wuhan Union Hospital where surgeons suggested a liver transplantation be performed. Both Zhang Chuanhu and Zhang Jiashun volunteered to donate part of their livers.

On Aug 15, surgeons said they both met the requirements to donate and an operation date was set of Sept 14.

Zhang Jiashun and Zhang Chuanhu argued nearly all month over who would be the donor. Zhang Chuanhu feared the operation would be harmful to his aging father while Zhang Jiashun was afraid nobody would be able to repay the family debt if his son was weakened by the operation.

“The hospital remitted 100,000 yuan in hospitalization costs. But we will pay around 150,000 yuan for surgery and treatment and the family has borrowed 130,000 yuan,” Zhang Jiashun said.

Surgeon Wan Chidan said the operation should not cause much harm to Zhang Jiashun, and his son Zhang Chuanhu gave in.

After a nine-hour operation, one-third of the left lobe of Zhang Jiashun's liver was transplanted to his grandson on Sept 14. The surgeon declared the operation a success.

“The grandfather can walk and talk normally and the grandson has returned to a general ward. His grandfather's liver has started working in his body,” he said.