18-yr-old donates part of liver to father; KGMU performs 25th liver transplant

Lucknow, Aug 10 (IANS)  A man got a fresh lease of life when his 18-year-old son donated a part of liver to him and he was successfully operated upon by doctors in King George's Medical University (KGMU).

The family also got full support from the government as expenses involving the transplant were met by money released from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

The man, who was operated upon by doctors on July 13, was discharged on Wednesday.

According to doctors, Ravi Kesharwani ,47, a shopkeeper and resident of Indira Nagar, was suffering from an advanced stage of liver cirrhosis, a serious and potentially life-threatening condition.

His son, Sukesh Kesharwani, agreed to donate part of his liver after he was counselled about the liver transplant as the only option to save his father's life.

The transplant procedure lasted for 10 hours. A team of over 40 staff members, including doctors and nursing staff, worked tirelessly for the successful surgery.

Prof Abhijit Chandra, head of the surgical gastroenterology department at KGMU, who conducted the surgery, said that about 2,000 liver transplants are done in India every year, mostly in private hospitals, with a cost of approximately Rs 30 to 40 lakh.

However, KGMU, being a state government institute, has brought down the cost to about Rs 10 lakh. He said KGMU is at the forefront of liver transplantation and organ donation in the state with the surgical gastroenterology spearheading the programme.

Initially, it started with a cadaveric organ retrieval programme in 2015.

The state's first green corridor for organ donation was created when a donated liver was transported to Delhi for a transplant on August 28, 2015. Since then, a total of 22 livers have been made available to patients in Delhi.

Besides, 48 kidneys and over 50 corneas have been used by SGPGIMS and KGMU respectively.

The first liver transplant was conducted at KGMU in 2019. From then on, a total of 25 liver transplants have been performed, 19 from live donors and six from cadaveric donors.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has congratulated the staff of the department of surgical gastroenterology of KGMU on its 25th successful liver transplant.

In a message directed to the medical university, the chief minister said, "I am extremely pleased to learn that the surgical gastroenterology department successfully performed the 25th liver transplant on July 13, 2023, marking an unprecedented milestone in the field of liver transplantation."

He lauded KGMU, acknowledging that the university holds a special place in the medical world.

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