Apollo Hospital celebrates the completion of its 25-year pediatric liver transplant program in India. Under the Apollo Transplant Program, more than 1600 organ transplants are performed in a year. Over 4300 liver transplants, including 515 children from 50 countries, are performed by the Apollo Institutes of Transplantation.

The first liver transplant was on Sanjay Kandasamy on November 15, 1998. Doctors from Delhi’s Indraprastha performed liver transplantation surgery on 20-month-old Sanjay, who is suffering from biliary atresia, a liver ailment that results in blockage in the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. This congenital malformation happens when the bile ducts do not develop naturally inside or outside of the liver. This condition also results in jaundice, as seen in Sanjay’s case, which deteriorates his condition. The Apollo Hospital doctors performed the first pediatric liver transplantation, marking the first liver transplant recipient in the country. Sanjay led a normal life after surgery and became a doctor.

Apollo Hospitals group medical director and senior pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Anupam Sibal, said I distinctly remember the day when I first saw Sanjay, the hours spent in the ICU, and today, 25 years on, Dr. Sanjay will soon be married. As his doctor, I cannot express the happiness and fulfillment I am feeling in words. And we also said today we could perform the most challenging transplants, including ABO-incompatible and combined liver-kidney transplants. We are also operating on babies as small as 4 kg. Dr. Sibal expressed that children who undergo liver transplants can lead an active life. Many of our patients continue to have incredible careers, get married, and have a completely normal life.

Dimple Kapadia, a film actress, said liver transplantation has given Sanjay a new life. I played a character named Tara Jaiswal in the movie ‘In Dil Chahta Hai’, who died of liver cirrhosis that led to liver failure. At that time, liver transplantation was not developed in India, but today, liver transplants are a life-saving therapy that saves every life. The 500th liver transplant was performed by Apollo Hospitals on a child named Prisha."I would like to congratulate the Apollo team and wish them the very best in their commitment to saving lives”.

Sanjay, as a doctor, is now creating awareness about organ donation and stands as an example of how organ recipients lead a normal life.

(Input from various media sources)

(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina)