First successful liver transplant at govt hospital

Doctors at the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) hospital performed their first successful liver transplant late in the night on Friday.

The liver of a brain-dead patient, Umesh Kumar (32) who was a resident of Chikkaballapura was transplanted to a 37-year-old resident from Kundapura in Mangaluru.

A team of transplant surgeons, other experts, with guidance of doctors from BGS Global Hospitals performed the transplant at midnight on Friday.

“The transplant is a successful one and the patient was also fed orally later in the day on Saturday,” said Dr Nagesh, who heads the liver transplant team of the hospital.

This is the second transplant by the doctors in this government hospital. Also, the team is the only one in any government hospital across the State to have performed a transplant. In this case, the patient had to only shell out just Rs 2.5 lakh with the doctors contributing a good amount from their own pockets.

In private hospitals, patients spend close to Rs 20 lakh for a liver transplant.
According to sources in the hospital, doctors have also met the minister for Medical Education to help provide immuno-suppressors at a subsidised cost or for free.

The donor, a mentally retarded patient was shifted from Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences where he was declared brain-dead. Later, his organs were donated.

A green corridor was also created to between Victoria Hospital and Narayana Health City to facilitate heart transplant.

The donor’s kidneys and cornea were also donated.