An eight-year-old boy with severe kidney failure is recovering well after a transplant carried out at the beginning of the year in Athens, after his father passed through the Mediterranean in search of treatment.
Without the means to pay for dialysis in Lebanon, Abdulaziz Aldarwish decided to leave the country with his son. With around 5,000 euros gathered between family savings and loans, they embarked on a journey that shouldarea last only a few hoursbut that prolonged for a week.
The trip was marked by a lack of food, a shortage of water and storms at sea, which put the lives of father and son at risk.
“I didn’t expect my son to survive… every time a wave came, we thought we were going to die, but in the end death was not our destiny,” he said. Abdulaziz Aldarwish.
After being rescued by a merchant ship, they arrived in Cyprus and were sent to Greece. Medical teams from several countries followed the case and performed the transplant at the Onassis National Transplant Center, with the father as donor.
Doctors emphasize that This case demonstrates the impact of international collaboration in healthcareespecially in critical situations involving children.
“The transplant goes beyond all barriers, borders, countries, races and religions”, said the doctor Emeralds Marinakiresponsible for the nephrology department at the Hospital Time.
After months of recovery, Yahia is stable. The boy left dialysis and returned to school, resuming his routine and childhood interrupted by the disease.
“After the operation, I stopped dialysis, I take less medication, I eat and drink what I want, I live normally and I go to school,” he said. Yahia Aldarwish.
