A nine-year-old boy with a genetic disease underwent five organ transplants. He said he had been waiting for a donor for the rest of his life. Daily mail.
Jacob Perez was diagnosed with congenital microvillous atrophy (MVID), a disease that prevents his body from properly digesting food. The disease affects one in a hundred million people worldwide. MVID causes chronic diarrhea and prevents the body from absorbing vitamins and minerals. There is no cure and patients must receive nutrients intravenously.
The boy underwent a stomach, large and small intestine, liver and pancreas transplant. His family waited nine years for a donor, who was supposed to be a boy of about the same age and height. A donor was found in Pittsburgh. Now the boy faces a long road to recovery: two months in the hospital and three months in rehabilitation.
Microvilli are outgrowths of intestinal cells responsible for the absorption of nutrients. Chronic nutritional deficiencies in MVID damage the stomach lining and impair the pancreas’ ability to produce digestive enzymes. Fatty liver and liver failure may also develop.
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