HospiNews

First Successful Swap Liver Transplant Surgery in India

Until three months ago, oblivious of each other's existence, 18-month-old Nigerian child Dike and 44-year-old Mumbai resident Priya Ahuja were both struggling for their lives due to terminal liver failure. Their families had lost hope of life-saving liver transplants as the only available liver donors for each case were of incompatible blood groups. Little did they realise that their lives could change by exchanging their donors. These unique donor-swapping liver transplants were successfully performed recently by the liver transplant team at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) for the first time in India.

Said Dr BK Rao, Chairman, Board of Management, "A team of 35 doctors strove for 16 hours in four operating theatres to complete the two liver transplants."

Explained Dr AS Soin, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon, SGRH, "The biggest challenge in paired donation transplants is that both transplants must take place simultaneously, otherwise the donor for the second transplant (first recipient's relative) may refuse to undergo surgery once his own loved one has been transplanted. While donor swaps are common in kidney transplantation which takes two hours, they have not been previously attempted in liver transplantation as conducting two simultaneous living donor liver transplants (four operations) is a daunting task."

Said Dr Neelam Mohan, Paediatric Hepatologist in charge said of Dike's case, "It proved tough to maintain him in his state of advanced liver failure with deep jaundice and bleeding for two months." Priya's case was very complicated as well. In addition to advanced liver failure, she was also suffering from tuberculosis and had to be put on anti-TB treatment for at least six weeks before the transplant could be done. Barely two months after the operation, both Dike and Priya along with their donors are getting back to enjoying a normal life outside the hospital.

EH News Bureau