{"id":107190,"date":"2025-04-17T11:24:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T09:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean"},"modified":"2025-04-22T22:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T20:51:16","slug":"15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean","title":{"rendered":"15-Year-Old Girl Denied Liver Transplant In South Africa Because She\u2019s Zimbabwean"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>A 15-year-old Zimbabwean girl has been denied life-saving medical treatment in South Africa because of her nationality.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Mafu, who suffers from a life-threatening autoimmune disease, has been told she does not qualify for a liver transplant from a South African donor.<\/p>\n

Her desperate parents have now filed an urgent application at the Johannesburg High Court, seeking to compel Charlotte Maxeke Hospital to perform the life-saving procedure, which could cost up to R1.5 million. The parents have stated that they are willing and able to cover the cost.<\/p>\n

In an affidavit, Vanessa\u2019s father, Vuyelwa Ncube, said doctors treating his daughter diagnosed her with autoimmune hepatitis, which has progressed to liver cirrhosis.<\/p>\n

Ncube said his daughter urgently requires a liver transplant to survive.
\nThe family was informed that Vanessa could receive a liver either from a deceased donor, if consent was given for medical use, or a portion of a liver from a living donor, typically a family member.<\/p>\n

However, South African doctors told Ncube that there is a national priority list for organ recipients, and Zimbabwean nationals are not eligible to receive organs from deceased South African donors.<\/p>\n

To be included on that list, Vanessa\u2019s father would need a valid visa or work permit.<\/p>\n

Ncube will argue before the High Court\u2014during an urgent hearing expected within days\u2014that he has applied for an extension of his expired work permit and is currently awaiting the outcome.<\/p>\n

He will also contend that his immigration status does not absolve the hospital of its obligation to preserve life.<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s lawyer, Advocate Simba Chitando, told ZimLive that Vanessa\u2019s case is \u201cextremely urgent because it is a life-saving procedure, but it is also one of the most cruel, inhuman, and blatantly xenophobic acts perpetuated by the state against a child.\u201d He added:<\/p>\n

It is symbolic of the fact that South Africa has lost its moral, legal, and pan-African compass. My clients remain defiant under the circumstances, and the legal team I\u2019m leading will do everything in our power to save this beautiful Zimbabwean girl\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Chitando said that following the filing of the court application, Charlotte Maxeke Hospital discharged Vanessa in what he described as a vindictive move.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. A 15-year-old Zimbabwean girl has been denied life-saving medical treatment in South Africa because of her nationality. Vanessa Mafu, who suffers from a life-threatening autoimmune disease, has been told she does not qualify for a liver transplant from a South African donor. Her desperate parents have now filed an urgent application at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":107189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[18309,18308,577,19],"class_list":["post-107190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-liver-transplant","tag-south-africa-xenophobia","tag-xenophobia","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\n15-Year-Old Girl Denied Liver Transplant In South Africa Because She\u2019s Zimbabwean - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 15-year-old Zimbabwean girl has been denied life-saving medical treatment in South Africa because of her nationality. ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"15-Year-Old Girl Denied Liver Transplant In South Africa Because She\u2019s Zimbabwean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 15-year-old Zimbabwean girl has been denied life-saving medical treatment in South Africa because of her nationality. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-17T09:24:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-22T20:51:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/04\/sm_1744876827.735066.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"15-Year-Old Girl Denied Liver Transplant In South Africa Because She\u2019s Zimbabwean\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-17T09:24:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-22T20:51:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\"},\"wordCount\":394,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/04\/sm_1744876827.735066.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liver transplant\",\"South Africa Xenophobia\",\"Xenophobia\",\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/15-year-old-girl-denied-liver-transplant-in-south-africa-because-shes-zimbabwean\",\"name\":\"15-Year-Old Girl Denied Liver Transplant In South Africa Because She\u2019s Zimbabwean - 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