PETALING JAYA:  Renowned living donor liver transplant surgeon Associate Professor Dr. Yoong Boon Koon has passed away. He was 54.

Dr Yoong, who founded the living donor liver transplant programme in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in 2017, passed away at his home on July 17.

He was also the President of the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery Society of Malaysia (MyHPBS) and the chief consultant for hepato-pancreato-biliary and liver transplant surgery at Sunway Medical Centre.

UMMC confirmed the news of his passing in a post on its official Facebook page and expressed gratitude for his years of contribution.

The management and staff of UMMC extend their deepest condolences and sympathy to Associate Professor Dr Yoong’s family.

They hope the family will remain strong during this difficult time and that all necessary arrangements go smoothly.

In April, Dr Yoong delivered a public talk on hepatitis, liver cancer and liver diseases at Sin Chew Daily headquarters as a guest speaker for the health column in the newspaper.

The Yayasan Sin Chew, a foundation under Sin Chew Daily, donated RM500,000 to fund the living donor liver transplant team at UMMC after Dr Yoong completed training in Hong Kong.

Dr. Yoong pursued advanced studies in Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Surgery at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong and spent six months learning liver transplant techniques in 2008.

After returning to Malaysia the following year, he intended to set up a living donor liver transplant team but lacked the funds.

Yayasan Sin Chew stepped in to contribute the funds through a recommendation by Professor Dr Lee Way Seah, consultant paediatric gastroenterologist of UMMC, to set up the living donor liver transplant team.

The funds were used to set up the team, train staff and cover the medical expenses of several patients.

Dr. Yoong led the medical team of UMMC to perform the first living donor liver transplant surgery in Malaysia in 2017.

To date, UMMC has completed more than 30 living donor liver transplants.

The College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, said Dr Yoong was a valued member and served with distinction as chair of the Chapter of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Surgery.

“The impact he had on so many lives will be felt for years to come,” said the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia on its website in mourning the passing of Dr Yoong.