Father, you need to come to Korea with us to stay alive.
Omar El Ketani (30), a heart surgeon based in France, was urgently seeking methods to save his father, Mohamed El Ketani (64), who was suffering from advanced liver failure and liver cancer. Mohamed had been removed from the transplant list by French medical professionals, who believed that a deceased donor liver transplant would not be feasible. Resolute, Omar decided to donate part of his liver along with his older brother (33). He researched liver transplant centers worldwide and chose to go to Seoul Asan Hospital. At first, Mohamed was reluctant to travel to South Korea, concerned about his sons’ safety. However, Omar convinced him by stating, “I checked, and there have been no cases of donor deaths at this hospital,” and the father and sons eventually flew to Korea in April.
On the 30th, Seoul Asan Hospital stated, “We successfully carried out a ‘2-to-1 living donor liver transplant’ for Mohamed El Ketani, a citizen of both Morocco and France, utilizing parts from his two sons’ livers.” A 2-to-1 living donor liver transplant refers to the process of transferring segments of livers from two donors when one donor is unable to supply an adequate liver size. This technique was initially introduced in 2000 by Lee Seung-gyu, a renowned professor of liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the hospital.
Mohamed contracted hepatitis C 20 years ago, which damaged 85% of his liver, resulting in cirrhosis and liver failure. In late 2025, during a pre-transplant assessment in France, he was found to have early-stage liver cancer. A subsequent examination in February 2026 showed a new tumor measuring 6 cm. With a living donor transplant being his only option, Omar volunteered. Upon learning that Seoul Asan Hospital conducts roughly 400 living donor liver transplants each year, he made arrangements to travel to South Korea. In France, the biggest transplant centers concentrate on deceased donor transplants, carrying out only around 10 living donor procedures annually.
Following thorough assessments, Seoul Asan Hospital concluded that the surgical procedure was possible. Despite Mohamed’s blood type being different from that of his sons, the hospital had previously carried out more than 1,100 liver transplants involving people with incompatible blood types. On May 17, a 17-hour operation successfully transferred portions of the sons’ livers to Mohamed. More than 10 medical professionals participated in the entire process, including liver removal and transplantation. The surgery was directly overseen by Lee Seung-gyu.
Mohamed stated, “Due to the quick spread of cancer, our family had lost all hope, but after choosing to come to Korea, we recovered our health in a miraculous way. I express my sincere thanks to the medical team who gave us a second chance at life.” Omar also mentioned, “I was greatly impressed by the advanced medical technology, the efficient hospital system, and particularly the compassionate approach in treating patients with genuine care. I hope to have the opportunity to train at Seoul Asan Hospital one day.”
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