Recipient of first liver transplant at government hospital dies

The 38-year-old man from Rajajinagar in the city - who on Friday became the first recipient of a liver transplant in a government hospital - died on Saturday morning.

He had undergone the transplant at the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana Hospital on the Victoria Hospital premises. Doctors left no stone unturned to save the patient, but in vain.

The patient’s condition worsened because of the primary rejection of the organ due to antibodies.

The donor was a 42-year-old brain-dead woman from Mangaluru.
Dr Nagesh N S, who heads the team, said, “The liver has to function immediately after the transplant. In this case, it did not happen. The patient was given Factor 7 injection and we were hopeful that his condition will improve. But the patient did not survive. We tried our level best to save the patient.”

Reduced cost of treatment

As the patient comes from a poor economic background, the hospital reduced the cost of his transplant and the team members also pooled in money from their pockets.

Besides the cost of airlifting the organ, the surgeon paid Rs 2.5 lakh from his own pocket for Factor 7. This being the first case, the doctors at the hospital had experienced hands from BGS Global Hospitals by their side, while performing the transplant.

The doctors had to choose between two patients: one who could afford the surgery and the other whose condition was critical and could not afford the surgery.

They selected the man from a poor financial background. Most of the doctors in the team had given up their jobs in the private sector.