Swap liver transplant grants leash of life to two
POSTED August 20, 2009 - 11:20 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Priya Markanda on August 20, 2009 - 12:15
Little did 18-month old Nigerian boy, Dike and 44-year old Priya based out of Mumbai know that their terminal liver failure will bring them in contact with each other in Delhi.
The rare surgery
Families of both these liver patients had given up hope when none could find apposite donors whose blood group matched with those of the recipients.
Dr. Neelam Mohan, paediatric hepatologist and Dr. Sanjiv Saigal, transplant hepatologist, at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital found that the blood group of Chinwe, Dike's mother matched with the blood group of Priya.
Likewise, the blood group of Haresh, Priya's husband, matched with the blood group of Dike. In the absence of any other appropriate donor, the doctors decided to go in for a liver swap, akin to the much prevalent swap kidney transplant.
"While both donors' blood groups did not match their own recipients", they were suitable for the other recipient. Dike's father had the same blood group as the kid but he had very fatty liver and so wasn't a suitable donor," said Dr. Mohan.
"When we suggested the idea of a donor exchange, which is also called paired donation, both families jumped at the opportunity," added the doctor.
A 35-member strong team performed the intricate surgery to perfection and granted a new leash of life to both the patients.
Dr. Soin talked of the challenges involved in the surgery, "While donor swaps are common in kidney transplantation which takes two hours, they have not been previously attempted in liver transplantation as conducting two simultaneous living donor liver transplants (four operations) is a daunting task taking 10-12 hours each. The swap transplant took 16 hours in four different operating theaters and took place on June 25."
The illness
The Nigerian boy was suffering from a rare medical condition Billiary Atresia in which can lead to liver failure. The condition affects the newborn infants and is marked by the blockage or absence of the common bile duct between the liver and the small intestine.
On the other hand, Priya had advanced liver failure due to Hepatitis C infection. Her condition was critical after she was diagnosed to be suffering from tuberculosis as well.
