Taiwanese hospital helps Chinese patient with rare disease

 2011/11/18  Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) Family members of a 5-year-old Chinese girl suffering from a genetic liver disease thanked the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) Friday for saving her life. Yu Weiping has a congenital defect in the urea cycle, which causes hyperammonemia: a potentially deadly metabolic disturbance caused by high amounts of ammonia in the blood. Her mother sought help from the NTUH two years ago after hospitals in China were unable to provide her with proper medical treatment. She explained that Chinese hospitals had no stocks of the relevant medicine and were unable to purchase the expensive foreign drug due to strict regulations governing such imports. Already having lost her first child to same rare disease, Yu's mother said she was grateful to the hospital because her family simply could not bear another loss. "When the Taiwanese doctor kneeled down to check my daughter's belly, both my husband and I cried," she said. The pediatrician, Hwu Wuh-liang, said his team was working with charity foundations to give Yu a prescription that would keep her condition stable for at least two years. "With a proper diet and periodic checkups, we are optimistic about Yu's situation," Hwu said. According to Hwu, there are about 100 patients in Taiwan with the same disease and treatment can cost tens of thousands of NT dollars every year.