Son saves father’s life in a rare liver transplant surgery at Kumaran Hospitals

• Prof Mohamed Rela’s team perform a rare ABO incompatible liver transplant successfully;
• Breakthrough solution to solve the long standing problem of blood group incompatibility

Chennai, December 18, 2019: David Marshall, a 54 year old gentleman suffered from serious Liver problems and came to Kumaran Hospitals, where he was diagnosed with Liver Failure and Liver Cancer. The problem was very serious and it was clearly evident that only a Liver Transplant could save his life.

Though Tamilnadu is the pioneer in organ transplantation and the state tops the table of successful liver transplantations performed in India, the numbers are still far away from adequate. Listing the recipient’s name in the State Organ Registry and waiting for it could take a very long time and many patients don’t survive this long and painful wait for a matching organ from an unknown brain-dead patient.

One major solution to this problem is harvesting a part of the liver from a Living Related Donor that can be transplanted to the ailing patient. These kind of surgeries require high level of expertise and skill. However most often than not we find ourselves in the situation where there is no blood group match between the donor and the recipient. An ABO incompatible graft will be severely rejected by the recipient’s body and will lead to organ failure again.

(L to R) Organ Donor - Son of Patient David Marshall; Patient David Marshall; Prof Mohamed Rela, Renowned Liver Transplant Surgeon; Dr S P Shivakumar, Executive Director, Kumaran Hospitals; Dr Dinesh Jothimani, Liver Transplant Physician (Hepatologist)

Prof Mohamed Rela, World Renowned Liver Transplant Surgeonsaid “Since the patient was very ill, a unique solution was put forth in the case of David Marshall, where his son, whose blood group did not match his father’s, agreed to donate his liver. After a detailed team discussion in the best interest of the patient it was decided to go ahead with liver transplantation after ‘desensitisation’ of the recipient blood by removing antibodies that can cause severe rejection. This is called ABO incompatible liver transplantation, a lifesaving surgery.”

This is a unique procedure of its kind where the patient received special medication two weeks before the transplantation and a procedure called plasmapheresis to minimise the cells that produce specific antibodies and remove the existing antibodies. The health status of the patient was monitored closely and the transplantation was carried out successfully in Kumaran Hospitals, Kilpauk, Chennaiby the team lead by Prof Mohamed Rela from Dr Rela Institute, Chromepet, Chennai.After the successful transplant surgery, the patient recovered well in the ICU and was shifted to the regular ward from where he was discharged after complete recovery.

Commenting on the successful transplant surgery, Prof Mohamed Rela,said “These types of surgeries should be performed in higher numbers since the requirement for donated solid organs outweigh the availability of potential donors by a very large margin in our country. Most often the patient finds himself in a predicament of an unmatched living related donor, and the ABO incompatible transplantation has presented itself as a welcome solution to this very common problem”.Prof Mohamed Rela is a world authority in Liver Transplantation and has been instrumental behind the phenomenal success of solid organ transplantation in Tamilnadu in the last 10 years. Vividly recalling his ordeal and recovery David Marshall said “I was pretty sure that my time has come when doctors broke the news of liver cancer and organ failure to me. Thanks to Prof. Rela and the doctors at Kumaran Hospitals, my son’s loving gift to me did not go waste and I’m here very much alive and healthy talking to you all”.

About Kumaran Hospitals, Kilpauk, Chennai: Kumaran Hospitals is a superspecialty and multi-specialty healthcare center established in the year 1989 by Dr. S. Palaniswamy and Dr. P. Manimekalai to provide a wide spectrum of high quality medical services at affordable costs. Located in the heart of Chennai, the center is NABL certified and is equipped to provide the highest level of medical and surgical services for children and adults. Kumaran Hospitals is NABH accredited and utilizes sophisticated technology for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Around 3 decades of experience in Health Care, the medical and surgical team is highly skilled and has great experience in handling every situation. The team is ably assisted by a dedicated team of nurses, technicians and support staff to provide a holistic healing experience to every patient.

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