Liver transplant facility comes to Thanjavur with new tie-up

THANJAVUR: Liver transplant can become a reality in Thanajvur soon. Gleneagles Global Health city, Chennai, the largest facility of Gleneagles Global Hospitals group and K.G. Hospital at Thanjavur entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct liver transplants at KG.Hospital, which has applied for license to do transplants, in future.

Until then every month gastroenterologists and transplantation surgeons from the health city will visit K.G.Hospital every  and diagnose persons who need liver transplant and perform it at Chennai.

R.Senthilumaran, chairman of K.G.Hospitals here and Dr.Joy Varghese, Director, Hepatology Transplant Hepatology, Gleneagles Global Health city exchanged the MOU at the hospital on Sunday.

Varghese told presspersons that already five patients including two children from the delta districts of Thanjavur and Nagapattinam have undergone successfully liver transplant at Gleneagles Global Health city. He presented them to presspersons.

One of the patient is Sivaranjani,  a ninth standard student from Pattukottai. She had acute liver disease and left with no choice than to transplant liver. One of her relative was the donor and the transplant was completed successfully. “Both Sivarajanji and her donor are doing well” said Varghese.  “I am all right..I will continue my studies now”  said Sivarajnaji.Sabareesh is a one year old child who underwent liver transplant in the same hospital. His parents said that their  child is safe. His mother donated liver for her child and the transplantation was successfully completed. Dhanalakshmi(70) from Thanjavur and another five months old boy were others who underwent liver transplant and are hale and healthy.

Varghese said that children who underwent liver transplant can live their full life as the transplanted liver has the ability to grow. Similarly live donors also need not worry as only part of their liver is taken and the rest can grow. He also said that  India is emerging as a major successful liver transplanting country next to USA.

Moreover liver transplant in India is affordable and cheaper. Hence patients from other countries are also coming to India for liver transplant. “Our hospital, a pioneer in India has performed 2500 liver transplantations with a success rate of more than 95 per cent.

In the past one year 428 liver were transplanted and 1000 HPB surgeries were carried out. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s comprehensive health insurance scheme helps in making the treatment free for the poor.

Liver transplant was done for most of the patients (including the abovementioned) under the CM’s comprehensive health insurance scheme” Varghese said.

Dr Rajnikanth Patcha, senior consultant, liver transplant and HPB surgery, Dr.P.Karnan,HOD-PICU, Dr.Vivek Viji, Director, HPB and transplantation-all from Gleneagles Global Hospitals group were present on the occasion. They appealed to create awareness about organ donation. A person can donate heart, two kidneys, liver etc.

They also said that procedure of getting certificate from Tasildhar for undergoing liver transplant can be relaxed and made to get certificate from Village Administrative officers for chronic cases in view of urgency. Procedural delay may cost the lives of the patients.