She celebrates Hari Raya, thanks to liver transplant and altruistic donor

14-year-old who was diagnosed with rare chronic disease at six gets a new lease of life

- Gracia Yap

Temasek Secondary School student Falisha Zafilin was just six when she was diagnosed with a rare chronic liver disease, but with a liver transplant and blood transfusions in 2022, she could celebrate another Hari Raya Aidilfitri on April 10.

Falisha, now 14, enjoys reading and writing as well as acting. She is a member of her school's drama cocurricular activity group, known as Serious Play. "I will be acting as a zombie in an upcoming show," she told The Straits Times.

However, she could not always be so involved in school activities due to her health.

Before Falisha turned two, her mother, Madam Siti Zubaidah Mohamed Sharif, 45, noticed blood in the girl's faeces. The toddler was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

In 2015, Falisha was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) at KKH after she underwent a liver biopsy when her IBD medication did not work, and she repeatedly failed her liver function tests. She was referred to the National University Hospital (NUH) in 2018 for a second opinion after another liver biopsy indicated that her condition had worsened.

Dr Lee Ser Yee, senior consultant hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon at colorectal and liver clinic Surgical Associates, said PSC is a very rare chronic liver disease of unknown cause characterised by ongoing inflammation, destruction and scarring of the bile ducts.