Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1331 - 1007: Precautionary Kidney Typing

Chapter 1331: Chapter 1007: Precautionary Kidney Typing

The whole night was relatively calm, though a few times the nurses suspected that Principal Ding’s pupils were dilating. Yang Ping personally got up to check on his pupils, which were completely normal.

Pupils were being checked every fifteen minutes, and under the illumination of flashlight beams, it’s easy for people to experience slight optical illusions. Such illusions, coupled with the nurses’ excessive anxiety, could mislead them into taking normal pupils as high-risk signs.

Within the first 24 hours after surgery, incomplete hemostasis is a major concern. It now appeared that the hemostasis during the surgery was perfect. In this kind of operation, even the slightest bleeding can be fatal. The next challenge is the potential swelling of brain tissue, which is less likely to occur after gentle surgery that meticulously preserves the brain tissue.

Many precise operations must obsess over the details, with every step being executed perfectly to achieve a good outcome. Any lapse in any part of the process can destroy the effects of the entire surgery.

The next morning, Yang Ping had to return to Sanbo Hospital for other matters, so he took Xu Zhiliang back with him and left Song Zimo at Affiliated Hospital No. 1 to continue overseeing Principal Ding’s post-surgery treatment until the high-risk period for brain tissue swelling had passed. Xu Zhiliang had almost no communication skills, making him unreliable to be left behind, so only Song Zimo could stay.

A week later, Principal Ding showed no signs of brain tissue swelling and he woke up from his coma. The surgery could now be declared successful, but a significant problem arose: his kidney functions had failed, reaching the final stage of renal dysfunction—uremia. Hemodialysis was not effective, leaving organ transplant as the only option.

In such urgent cases for kidney transplant matching, the search is limited to relatives. After a successful match with a relative, ethical reviews must be passed before the transplant surgery can proceed.

For this reason, Yang Ping had to make another trip to Nandu Affiliated Hospital No. 1. Principal Ding had awakened, but he was in poor mental condition, still lying in the ICU. During a discussion about his condition, Yao, the director of the Organ Transplant Center at Nandu Affiliated Hospital No. 1, Director Wen of ICU, and Director Lu of Neurosurgery gathered together.

"The bedside hemodialysis machine for uremia isn’t functioning well; we’re not sure why. We’ve encountered such patients before, where hemodialysis inexplicably isn’t effective, so we can only hope for an organ transplant," said Director Wang of Nephrology, who was the main figure in this consultation.

"If we really are planning for a transplant, it’s best to start matching in advance, and it would be ideal to find a successful match from a family volunteer," Director Yao of the Organ Transplant Center said with concern.

Because of the patient’s special circumstances, they can’t just undergo dialysis while waiting for a kidney source like typical uremia patients. Once dialysis becomes completely ineffective, it’s crucial to find a kidney source quickly amidst the current severe shortage.

Guan Ruyan, Ding Xinyu, and Lu Xiaolu, as family members, listened on the sidelines during Principal Ding’s consultation. Professor Su turned to Ding Xinyu and asked, "What’s your opinion? If there is an appropriate volunteer among the family members, it would make sourcing an organ easier. If we wait for a donor, it could take a long time."

"I agree to family donation. I can participate in the matching, I’m his daughter, I should be able to match successfully," Ding Xinyu hastily agreed, anxious about her father’s illness.

Director Yao said, "It’s not certain. In theory, the probability of a successful family match is highest, but there are no guarantees."

"I’d like to sign up too. Although I’m not a family member, I’m willing to donate a kidney to Principal Ding," Lu Xiaolu raised her hand.

Director Yao remarked, "You’re not a relative, so the ethical review will be much stricter."

"Xiao Lu, the success rate of matching without blood relations is not high, and it will complicate matters. I can understand how you feel. I also want to donate a kidney to Teacher Ding, but without blood relations, ethical reviews are very tricky and could easily create problems. We need to be rational. I’m more anxious than anyone else, but we can’t let our anxiety disrupt our strategy," Guan Ruyan dissuaded Lu Xiaolu, also considering his own position—if Lu Xiaolu participated in the matching, how could he, as the son-in-law, back down?

However, Guan Ruyan truly didn’t want to participate in the matching. What if he matched successfully? He definitely wouldn’t want to donate his kidney. It wouldn’t matter if it were Principal Ding or even his own parents; he wouldn’t want to. Why should he have to donate a kidney when he was perfectly healthy? But he couldn’t say this out loud.

"Right, Professor Lu, you don’t have a blood relation with Principal Ding. This matter requires careful consideration. We advocate for voluntary donation by blood-related family members without any moral coercion. It has to be completely voluntary, without any moral pressure," Director Yao reminded Lu Xiaolu.

Lu Xiaolu couldn’t care less at that moment, "I’m volunteering, with no one forcing me and no reluctance. There’s absolutely no moral pressure involved."

"In that case, we should still be cautious. Let’s consider other options. Organ transplant is a major surgery and there’s also the risk of rejection afterward. With Teacher Ding’s current physical condition, having just woken up from surgery, he can’t take such a hit. It’s not just an issue of finding a kidney source. With Professor Yang’s help, Principal Ding barely survived the surgery and achieved success. We need to cherish this outcome. I believe there are other alternatives we should consider before jumping into such a major operation," Guan Ruyan spoke convincingly.

Director Wang of Nephrology added, "That’s true. We’ll try to solve the problem in other ways, and certainly won’t resort to a transplant unless it’s the last step. I just think we should be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If it ever comes to it, where would we rush to find a kidney source? We’ve learned from such experiences before."

"If that’s the case, I’ll participate in the matching too. With one more person, the chances of a successful match increase. As a son-in-law without blood relations, I’m still family, which is reasonable in terms of ethics," he said.

Now that Director Wang had clarified, any further objections would be inappropriate. Guan Ruyan thought it was just a matter of matching for now. If he didn’t match, nothing would result from it. If he did, he could figure out what to do later; ultimately, whether to donate the kidney was his own decision, and no one else could dictate that.

"I’ll participate in the matching, you don’t have to," Ding Xinyu held Guan Ruyan’s hand, deeply touched.

"It’s okay. A healthy person can survive with just one kidney. With dad in his current condition, if he really needs a kidney source and we have to rush to find one, it wouldn’t be right to stop me now, since dad has always treated me like a son," Guan Ruyan said softly.

Although Guan Ruyan spoke quietly, some people overheard. Everyone was moved by his words, feeling that Principal Ding’s effort in nurturing such a relationship had not been in vain; the son-in-law was indeed loyal and dutiful.