The Boston Globe recently ran a story about a young Boston Children’s Hospital patient who came to the hospital from Palestine. Coordinating his care was a combined effort of many people, crossing geological and political borders.
Yahya at Boston Children's
When Yahya Ahmad Masalma was born in a small village in Palestine, Israeli doctors diagnosed him with posterior urethral valves (PUV), a congenital and chronic condition that compromises the kidneys and urological system. In Yahya’s case, his kidneys and bladder were unable to properly function, causing serious problems, so doctors in Jerusalem began performing regular dialysis—a process that takes the blood out of the body, filters it through a machine and puts back into the body.
But a person—especially a child—can only undergo dialysis for so long before the body begins to revolt. After five years, Yahya’s blood vessels were damaged and failing and he would soon be unable to undergo any more of the life-sustaining treatment.
Without dialysis, Yahya’s condition would worsen quickly, and the only way he could survive was to get a kidney transplant.
Michael Agus, MD, director of Medicine Critical Care Program Boston Children’s Hospital had heard about Yahya’s case through his Israeli colleagues, and made William Harmon, MD, chief of Boston Children’s Division of Nephrology, aware of the situation. Although the Israeli Hospital has performed kidney transplants in small children before, Yahya had very low blood pressure and they felt that it would not be safe to do so for him. The Israeli physicians could not find a transplant program that was willing to accept Yahya. Full story »
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