𝘎𝘌𝘔 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 & 𝘚𝘳𝘪 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 "𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳-𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘸𝘢𝘱 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵" 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦

Chennai, 18th July 2025: In a groundbreaking achievement for Indian healthcare, GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore have collaboratively performed the country's first-ever inter-hospital swap liver transplant, giving a new lease on life to two patients suffering from end-stage liver disease. The complex procedure was a historic medical feat that required meticulous planning right from the stage of patient evaluation, donor-recipient matching, comprehensive pre-operative optimization and unprecedented inter-institutional cooperation. 

GEM Hospital & Sri Ramakrishna Hospital Successfully performs India’s First Inter-Hospital Swap Liver Transplant in Coimbatore
(L to R) Dr. Magnus Jayaraj, Transplant surgeon, GEM Hospital; Dr. Anand vijay, Transplant Surgeon, GEM Hospital; Dr. P. Praveen Raj, Joint Director, GEM Hospital; Sundar, managing Trustee, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital; Dr. S.Alagappan, Medical Director, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital; Dr.R.Jayapal, Liver Transplant Surgeon, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital

The patients, a 59-year-old man from Salem admitted in GEM Hospital and a 53-year-old man from Tiruppur admitted in Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, were both in dire need of liver transplants. Their respective wives were willing to donate, but blood group incompatibility ruled out direct donation. In a rare stroke of opportunity, doctors identified that a ‘swap transplant’—where the donor of each patient gives to the other, was the only viable solution. Finally, the surgery was simultaneously performed at both the hospitals on 3rd July 2025.

Press meet Youtube Video link 👇 

Unlike conventional living donor liver transplantation, where a relative donates directly to the patient, a swap transplant enables patients who do not have a compatible donor within their own family to exchange donors with another family in a similar situation. This approach expands the donor pool and offers new hope to patients with end-stage liver disease who would otherwise remain on long waiting lists or have no viable curative treatment option.

 (Centre) Dr. C. Palanivelu, Founder and Chairman, GEM Hospital

What makes this case historic is not just the medical complexity, but that the swap occurred across two different hospitals, a scenario never before attempted in India for liver transplants. “This required navigating a host of legal, ethical, and logistical challenges,” said Dr. C.Palanivelu, Founder & Chairman - GEM Hospitals. “We had to obtain special clearance from the Tamil Nadu State Transplant Authority to transport the organ from one hospital to the other. We also had to ensure synchronized surgeries and establish a real-time communication protocol between both hospitals.”

Dr. P.Praveen Raj, Director – GEM Hospitals, emphasized the legal rigor involved: “Swap transplants are already regulated under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 2014, but inter-hospital coordination added new layers of scrutiny. We had to present detailed consent forms, cross-institutional MOUs, and continuous ethical oversight.”

Dr. N.Anand Vijay, Liver Transplant Surgeon - GEM Hospital said, “On the day of the transplant, both hospitals performed the surgeries simultaneously in two different operation theatres located 5 kilometers apart. Real-time video feeds were established to monitor surgical progress and co-ordinate liver retrieval and transplantation. Dedicated ambulances equipped with cold chain systems were kept on standby, but both donors and recipients remained in their respective hospitals throughout, making this a true logistical marvel”.

Shri R. Sundar, Managing Trustee – Sri Ramakrishna Hospital said, “Tamil Nadu has long been recognised for its exceptional healthcare infrastructure, and this milestone stands as a true testament to Tamilnadu's medical excellence. The highly skilled medical teams from GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital undertook this complex procedure with great precision and dedication. Their tireless efforts have led to a remarkable success, and I am extremely pleased to note that both patients are recovering well. Our sincere gratitude also goes to the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) for granting timely approval and supporting this life-saving initiative.”

Dr. R.Jayapal, Liver Transplant Surgeon - Sri Ramakrishna Hospital said, “This innovative approach helped avoid the need for costly ABO-incompatible liver transplantation, which would have been the only alternative option in this scenario. By enabling a compatible swap, the teams successfully reduced the financial burden on patients, thus underscoring the commitment of both hospitals to delivering the highest quality outcomes while preventing unnecessary expenses. This milestone opens a new economic avenue in liver transplantation, proving that cost-effectiveness and clinical excellence can go hand in hand.”

Dr. Magnus Jayaraj, Transplant Surgeon, GEM Hospital said, “Both the surgeries were performed under chief minister's comprehensive health insurance scheme. The Tamil Nadu Health Department extended full cooperation in expediting the necessary permissions, and law enforcement ensured smooth transportation corridors in case of emergencies”.

“Both the donors and recipients of the organs are responding well to the medicines and recovering. This achievement is a testimony to what is possible when institutions rise above boundaries for the greater good. We believe this model can now be replicated across India to save more lives”, Dr. N. Anand Vijay further added.

****

Popular posts from this blog

𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘩𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯 & 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘦 (𝘐𝘈𝘊-𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦)

𝘕𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯’𝘴 & 𝘈𝘶𝘮 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘩𝘢 𝘓𝘓𝘗 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘓𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥; 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 9 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴

𝘒𝘢𝘶𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘐 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 & 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘺

𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘪 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘜𝘥𝘺𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘴 𝘜𝘵𝘴𝘢𝘷; 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 & 𝘔𝘚𝘔𝘌 𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮

𝘚𝘐𝘔𝘚 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘭 & 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘱 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯