Mysuru: Apollo Hospital performed the first ever liver transplant in Mysuru. The surgery which is called Live Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT) where a woman donates her organ to her husband was performed successfully by hospital doctors. There are nearly 45,000 needy people including 3000 registered members wanting liver transplant in the state. The demand and supply ratio currently is over 20 persons per each liver donor.
Things were all well for the couple from Kanakapura until the 36-year-old husband was first diagnosed with the chronic liver disease after various initial tests by Dr. Rajkumar P Wadhwa, Chief Gastroenterologist & Head of the Institute of Gastrosciences, Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysuru. He further advised them to undergo liver transplantation.
The patient was added to an organ transplant waiting list, but when no good options materialised, the couple’s anxiety grew. Exploring further options after explaining the need for liver transplant, the patient’s family was counselled for the option of a Live Donor Liver Transplant as Cadaveric Transplant would take time in view of a long waiting list. His wife was willing to donate a part of her liver to her husband. After ascertaining that her organ anatomy was suitable for donation with approval and documentation by the internal committee Apollo BGS Hospitals decided to perform LDLT (Live Donor Liver Transplant Surgery). This is a procedure in which a living donor donates a part of their organ or a whole organ to the recipient. In this case, it was his wife who took a step forward to donate a part of her liver.
Dr. Manish Chandra Varma, a member of the liver transplant team, said, “Every year, only 50 to 60 donors are coming forward to donate their livers. These patients can’t wait for too long. There are many instances wherein the patients died after waiting for liver donors. Hence, to bridge the gap, the family members including relatives should come forward to donate the liver. In a human body, 70 percent of the liver is excess and hence if the family and relatives of patients come forward to donate their liver, definitely many patients will survive and can lead a better life. The above patient was very much in need of liver transplantation. Waited for donors would have taken more time and his health too would have deteriorated. Because of the live donor from his 26-year-old wife, he got a liver transplant. After 10 days, the patient was discharged and the donor does not need any medication. She will be absolutely normal and her liver will also grow.” Those who are above 18 years and below 55 years are eligible to donate the liver.
“It is to be noted that a liver is a regenerative organ and can grow back to its full size in two months”, added Dr. Rajkumar.
“We take a bow to the 26-year-old female who stood up for this noble cause. India needs more people like this to come forward and register for organ donation. Donate Organs–Save Lives”, said N G Bharateesha Reddy, Vice President-Operations & Unit Head, Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysuru.
Dr. Anand Rammurthy, Dr. Sunil Shanwy, Dr. Karthik Raichurkar, Dr. Manjunath, Dr. Navkanth, Dr. Shashidhara Reddy, Dr. Velmurgan and others were involved in the surgery.
