George Best is recovering in intensive care after a liver transplant at a London hospital. He was in the operating theatre for 11 hours at the Cromwell Hospital in Chelsea and the next hours are critical. Doctors tsay that he has a 75% chance of full recovery.
His consultant, Professor Roger Williams, said:
"If he gets through tonight he should do well. Everybody is happy with his progress.
"After some initial worries, his condition has substantially improved."
Speaking about Best's family, who are with him in the hospital, he added: "I have just seen them. They are much happier than they were earlier and are very pleased to see him in the Intensive Care Unit after surgery."
A United spokesman said: "Everyone at Manchester United wishes him all the best. We're all thinking of him."
His agent, Phil Hughes, before the op: “
"He was absolutely fine, much braver than I would be - I was a bag of nerves. It was done through the NHS. He chose not to go private and jump the queue and that's why he waited so long. He wasn't getting any worse but he wasn't getting any better either. This is very good news but there is still a worrying wait ahead."And this from The Guardian‘s Health Correspondent:
The prospects for most people who have liver transplants are good. Nine in 10 recipients are alive a year after the operation and five-year survival rates are between 70% and 85%, but there is a big shortage of donors, and ideally the organs should come from people under 50.
The best donors for children are children of about the same age.
For the past five years, only 650-680 transplants a year have been performed in Britain, despite the expertise gained since the first operation in the UK in 1968. There are 130-150 people waiting for the operation at any one time.
The liver is remarkably tolerant of abuse, whether due to alcohol - by far the main culprit for serious disease - hepatitis or other illnesses, but transplant of the organ, effectively the body's sewage plant, is sometimes the only option.