overwhelming, The Royal Gazette was told yesterday.

Close to $50,000 has been deposited into bank accounts for the 45-year-old National Alcohol and Drug Agency head who underwent a heart transplant last weekend.

And Mr. Ming's assistant Mrs. Althea Overbey said the accounts at the Bank of Bermuda and Bank of N.T. Butterfield remain open.

Mr. Ming, who had been on a donor's list for weeks, was last night listed in critical condition at Pittsburgh Presbyterian University Hospital's intensive unit.

He underwent a seven-hour heart transplant operation on Saturday soon after a donor with the perfect-size heart was located in West Virginia.

And although he remained unconscious yesterday, Mrs. Overbey said his vital signs were looking good and he was "doing very well''.

But she said even after Mr. Ming regains consciousness he is expected to remain in the US for the next six to nine months.

Mr. Ming's wife, Juanita, who has been by his side throughout the ordeal is living in a rented-apartment in Pittsburgh.

Government Hospital Insurance, which is paying for Mr. Ming's airfare to and from the US, will also cover 100 percent of Mr. Ming's medical expenses and pay up to $80 a day for room and board outside of the hospital.

But the insurance does not cover the apartment rent, which is believed to be close to $800, when Mr. Ming is in hospital.

And, therefore, Mrs. Overbey said the $49,627 donated so far will help to relieve "so much of the stress, strain, and anxiety of all of this''.

Most of the money came from honoured pledges made during a telethon last month.

"The family want to thank the public,'' Mrs. Overbey said. "That just shows how much they (the public) cares.

"And I can assure them that the money will be used wisely and provide an important service.''