Referral Guidelines

  REFERRAL GUIDELINES

The mission of Make-A-Wish^® Hong Kong is to grant one special wish to any child between the age of 3 and 17 with life-threatening medical conditions in Hong Kong or Macau*.

I.              Conditions that qualify a child for a Wish 

A.    A child who is diagnosed to have a terminal illness OR

B.    A child who is suffering from a life-threatening illness with limited or uncertain chances of long-term survival AND

C.    Have not successfully applied Make-A-Wish^® before. 

II.            Illustrative examples of medical conditions

Oncology – All cancers which severely impact the quality of life such as:

-       All acute and chronic leukemia requiring chemotherapy

-       Solid Malignant Tumours

-       Brain Tumours

-       Other Malignancies

-       Children deemed cured after chemotherapy, in which the child is in remission for more than 5 years and he/she is not on any form of treatment for cancer, are ineligible unless there is a recurrence of the illness

Hematology – Chronic diseases requiring transfusions or other chronic therapy such as:

-       Hypoplastic or Aplastic Anemia

-       Thalassemia Major

-       Lymphoproliferative Erythrophagocytosis

Immunodeficiency Disease – such as:

-       Congenital Immune Deficiency with known limitations of life span or requiring Bone Marrow Transplant

-       Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome with symptoms (HIV infection with symptoms or significant immune suppression)

Metabolic Disease – such as:

-        Severe Diabetes Mellitus

-        Gaucher’s Disease, with progressive neurological involvement and other similar conditions

Neurology – such as:

-          Any brain or spinal cord tumour

-          Any progressive or degenerative neurological condition

-          Any progressive or degenerative neuro-muscular disorders such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Metabolic Disorders

-          Any severe congenital malformation, such as Apert’s Syndrome

-          Cerebral Palsy with severe disability

-          Severe Epilepsy where there are poorly controlled and/or recurrent attacks of status epilepticus

Cardiology – All conditions with Heart Failure or persistent Cyanosis such as:

-          Dilated Cardiomyopathy with Heart Failure

-          Non-correctible and palliated congenital heart defects with either Heart Failure or Cyanosis

-          Eisenmenger Syndrome (severe pulmonary hypertension due to Congenital Heart Defect)

-          Transplant patients, prior to surgery, or complications with surgery, or rejection

Gastrointestinal – such as:

-        Congenital Biliary Atresia

-        Severe Short Bowel Syndrome

-        End-stage Liver Failure

-        Transplant patients, e.g. liver, intestine, pancreas; prior to surgery, or complications with surgery, or rejection

Renal – such as:

-          End-stage Renal Failure

-          Transplant patients, prior to surgery, or complications with surgery, or rejection

Pulmonary – such as:

-          Complex Severe Cystic Fibrosis

-          Complex Severe Bronchiectasis

-          Transplant patients, prior to surgery, or complications with surgery, or rejection

Trauma – such as:

-          Severe Burns – i.e. third degree burns, affecting more than 30% of total body surface area

-          Multisystem trauma with permanent disabilities

Others – such as:

-          Uncorrectable skeletal problems

-          Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Diseases not included in this list may also be evaluated on

a case-by-case basis by Make-A-Wish^® Hong Kong.

* For those who are receiving medical treatments in Hong Kong or Macau