“The liver was a perfect match. It is as if my liver was created for the sole purpose of providing my son with one. When God made me, he started by making my son’s liver and he then made me and he inserted it into me for him.”

These are the words of Jaco Fourie, a local estate agent, who recently donated part of his liver to save his three-year-old son, Benjamin’s life.

Benjamin was born with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the most common genetic cause of liver disease in children. This was discovered when he was three months old. His had cirrhosis and his family was told that with time it would get worse.

The only option to save him was a liver transplant.

Jaco was confirmed as a match and the doctors removed one-quarter of his liver to transplant into Benjamin. The procedure was done at Wits’ Donald Gordon Hospital in Gauteng on June 9.

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It was a huge success. His parents said it is only by the grace of God that everything went according to plan.
Jaco said the doctor told him that his liver was exactly what they needed, “It was the perfect size and the perfect form.”

Benjamin faced various challenges on account of the disease, which was heartbreaking for Jaco and his wife, Chantal.
One of the complications following his diagnosis included the disappearance of his bile ducts when he was two and a half years old.

On June 18, nine days after the operation, Benjamin passed a normal stool for the first time in his life.

Children with alpha-1 antitrypsin almost always present a pale stool on account of the liver damage.

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“Everyone had something good to say, they told me that my body responded so well and the anaesthetist did not even have to give me more medication,” he said.

Chantel said what her son went through is an inspiration to everyone because they can see how great God is. She compared the situation to a storm. “It was like knowing a storm is coming. You know you cannot stop it, you do not even know how hard it will hit or if you will drown. I just knew I had to face it and pray it all goes well,” she said.

Benjamin is recovering well in hospital and is out of ICU. Jaco has been discharged and is currently recovering at home.