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Hong Kong appeals for heart-lung donor to save 13-year-old girl

Critically ill teen on ECMO machine needs urgent transplant...

Deep Dive

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has issued an urgent public appeal for a heart and lung donor to save a critically ill 13-year-old girl identified as Ching Ching. She is currently being kept alive by an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine—an artificial heart-lung device—at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. Ching Ching suffers from pulmonary hypertension and heart failure, and doctors say she requires an immediate heart-lung transplant to survive.

According to the Hospital Authority spokesperson, the girl has an O-positive blood type and her condition is critical. The appeal was made public on June 9, 2026, through a news report by the South China Morning Post, which made the story freely available as a public service. No further details on donor eligibility or matching criteria were provided, but the urgency underscores the limited availability of suitable organs for pediatric patients in Hong Kong.

Key Points
  • Ching Ching, 13, has pulmonary hypertension and heart failure and is on an ECMO machine.
  • She requires an immediate heart-lung transplant and has O-positive blood type.
  • Hong Kong Hospital Authority made a rare public appeal for a donor.

Why It Matters

Highlights critical shortage of pediatric organ donors in Hong Kong and the life-or-death timing of transplants.