Roberto Irineu Marinho reveals that he underwent a liver transplant through the Brazilian public health system (SUS).

247 - The chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Globo, Roberto Irineu Marinho, announced this Friday (3) that he underwent a liver transplant on March 23 as a result of non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis. 

The G1 news portal reports that "Marinho has been at home since Wednesday, April 1st, when he was discharged from the hospital, and is currently recovering."

Read the note published by Roberto Irineu Marinho: 

"On March 23rd, I underwent a liver transplant performed by the team from the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP, which also operates at the Sírio Libanês Hospital in São Paulo. I had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease due to fat deposits in the liver and also to accumulated stress over several years."

I decided to have the transplant done by Brazilian doctors registered with the National Transplant System and the Transplant Center of the São Paulo State Health Department, which manages organ donation and allocation in this state.

I was on the waiting list for four weeks, hoping my MELD score (in Brazil, transplants are performed using the severity criterion) would rise so I could become the next candidate. On Monday, March 23rd, I received a phone call informing me that they had found a compatible liver and that I was next in line because I had met all the severity requirements.

The operation was a success despite the difficulties that such a large-scale operation entails. I have already been discharged from the hospital, I am fully recovering, and I can only thank everyone on the spectacular liver transplant team at Hospital das Clínicas in São Paulo, led by Prof. Dr. Luiz Carneiro de Albuquerque.

Roberto Irineu Marinho