Mohammed (left) expresses his gratitude to his two sons, the liver donors, and his wife in the recovery room at Asan Medical Center Seoul. Photo courtesy of Asan Medical Center Seoul
A Moroccan father and his two sons flew 10,000 kilometers to Korea for a liver transplant. The second son had scoured liver transplant centers around the world before finding hope of saving his father, who had terminal liver cancer. It was a miraculous moment in which Korean medical technology revived a patient whom even France had given up on.
Mohamed El Kettani had suffered from hepatitis C for the past 20 years. The prolonged illness had damaged about 85% of his liver, causing cirrhosis and liver failure. While enduring with his remaining liver, he was diagnosed with early-stage liver cancer. Although the tumor was removed through embolization, a new tumor measuring 6 centimeters was discovered this February. The tumor had invaded the portal vein within the liver and was progressing rapidly. A liver transplant was the only hope, but French medical staff judged the surgery too difficult and excluded him from transplant eligibility.
His second son, a cardiac surgeon working in France, investigated papers from liver transplant centers around the world one by one and discovered Asan Medical Center. In early 2025, some 30 years after performing its first liver transplant in 1992, Asan Medical Center became the world’s first single medical institution to reach 9,000 liver transplants. Its living-donor liver transplants, which transplant part of a liver from a living donor, alone reach 400 cases per year. This far exceeds the Cleveland Clinic in the United States (30 cases per year).
The father refused to travel to Korea due to his advanced age and other reasons, but the two sons strongly persuaded him. They visited Asan Medical Center in April, but there were considerable obstacles. Mohamed was large in build, weighing nearly 135 kilograms. Asan Medical Center ultimately performed a “2-to-1 living-donor liver transplant,” receiving part of a liver from each of the two sons. The procedure was devised by Lee Sung-gyu, a distinguished professor of liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at Asan Medical Center, as a world first in 2000, and Asan Medical Center holds the record for the most cases performed in the world at 664 to date. The surgery on the recipient, Mohamed, was handled by distinguished professor Lee Sung-gyu and professor Moon Deok-bog. The surgery, which began in the morning, ended only after 2 a.m. the following day, 17 hours later. Although it was a difficult surgery, all three—father and sons—recovered smoothly and are about to return to daily life. “I was deeply impressed not only by the overwhelmingly superior medical technology and hospital system, but also by the humane attitude of sincerely treating patients,” Omar said.
“The Moroccan father and sons coming all the way to Korea shows that the world recognizes our country’s level of liver transplantation,” distinguished professor Lee Sung-gyu said. “We will strive to help patients with end-stage liver disease and liver cancer around the world regain their health and continue new lives in their home countries.”