Pakistani doctor dies in US before life-saving liver transplant

NEW JERSEY:  Dr Maryam Shoukat, a 27-year-old Pakistani doctor pursuing her residency in the United States, passed away today just 30 minutes before her scheduled liver transplant. 

She had been admitted in critical condition with acute liver failure. Dr Maryam had travelled to US with the dream of serving humanity, but her life was cut short before she could realise that goal.

Earlier this month, Maryam was admitted to Rutgers University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, after her liver suddenly failed. Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and doctors made it clear that an urgent liver transplant was the only way to save her life. 

In this critical situation, her husband, Dr Hamza Zafar, reached out to APPNA (Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent of North America) for help.

APPNA immediately launched an emergency fundraising campaign, raising $273,000 within just one day, and said the total had now reached close to $400,000.

This extraordinary response led the hospital to reduce the total transplant cost from $900,000 to $450,000. APPNA quickly paid $100,000 to the hospital, allowing Dr Maryam’s name to be officially placed on the transplant list. A matching donor liver was also found soon after.

According to APPNA’s General Secretary, Dr Muhammad Sanaullah and Dr A. Fazal Akbar, the organisation’s President, Dr Humera Qamar, along with Dr Zeeshan, Dr Babar Rao, Dr Fateh Shehzad, and Dr Siddique Khurram, played vital roles in this life-saving effort. 

They shared that all members came together with the hope of saving a life that, once recovered, would go on to save many more through her service as a doctor.

Tragically, just as Dr Maryam was about to be taken to the operating room for the transplant today, her condition suddenly worsened, and she passed away only thirty minutes before the procedure.

APPNA leaders expressed deep sorrow, saying that Dr Maryam Shoukat’s journey was a story of sacrifice, courage, and hope. She came to heal others, but in her final days, she needed healing herself.