Dr. Maryam Shoukat, a -year-old Pakistani physician pursuing her residency training in the United States, tragically passed away today, a mere minutes before her scheduled liver transplant. She had been admitted to the hospital in a critical state due to acute liver failure. Dr. Maryam had traveled to the US driven by a deep ambition to serve humanity, but her promising life was curtailed before she could achieve that goal.
Earlier this month, Maryam was urgently admitted to Rutgers University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, following the sudden failure of her liver. Her medical condition deteriorated rapidly, prompting doctors to state clearly that an immediate liver transplant was the only intervention that could save her life.
In this dire situation, her husband, Dr. Hamza Zafar, reached out to the Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent of North America (APPNA) for emergency assistance.
APPNA immediately initiated a crucial emergency fundraising drive, successfully collecting $273,000 within just one day, with the organization confirming that the total amount had quickly approached $400,000. This extraordinary public response prompted the hospital to reduce the total estimated transplant cost from $900,000 down to $450,000. APPNA swiftly transferred $100,000 to the hospital, allowing Dr. Maryam’s name to be officially added to the vital transplant list. A matching donor liver was subsequently located soon after.
According to APPNA’s General Secretary, Dr. Muhammad Sanaullah, and the organization’s President, Dr. A. Fazal Akbar, several key members, including Dr. Humera Qamar, Dr. Zeeshan, Dr. Babar Rao, Dr. Fateh Shehzad, and Dr. Siddique Khurram, played integral roles in this desperate life-saving effort. They shared that every member had united with the hope of saving a life—a life that, once restored, would go on to save many others through her dedicated service as a doctor.
Devastatingly, just as preparations were underway to move Dr. Maryam into the operating room for the procedure today, her condition suddenly and sharply worsened, leading to her passing only thirty minutes prior to the scheduled transplant.
APPNA leaders conveyed their profound sorrow, stating that Dr. Maryam Shoukat’s life journey stood as a profound story of sacrifice, courage, and hope. She came with the sole intention of healing others, yet in her final days, she tragically found herself in desperate need of healing.
