TW Newsdesk, Mar 13: Apollo, the world’s largest vertically integrated healthcare provider, has been at the forefront of patient care in India and has led the organ transplant revolution in healthcare. On March 13, the Apollo Hospitals Group announced the successful completion of 500 pediatric liver transplants.
The Apollo Transplant program is one of the world’s biggest and most comprehensive transplant programs, offering a host of state-of-the-art services which include Management of Liver Disease, Management of Kidney Disease, Liver and Kidney Transplantation, Heart and Lung Transplantation, Intestinal, Pancreas and GI Transplant Surgeries and Pediatric Transplant Services.
With success rates of 90%, The Apollo Liver Transplant program is a beacon of quality and hope for patients from across the world.
Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, shared that, “India is coming up as a world leader in organ transplantation. Organ transplantation is a true act of human kindness and as a extraordinary science medical accomplishments. At Apollo Hospitals, we are proud to have created one of the world’s leading transplant programs, with world-class infrastructure, cutting-edge technology and the finest medical expertise. We remain committed to providing the best possible care and outcomes for our patients, and to advancing the frontiers of medical science in the field of transplantation. This milestone further reflects our commitment to advancing pediatric liver transplantation and providing the best possible care to our patients. I am immensely heartened at what this program has been able to achieve in a span of two decades. From a time when children with end stage liver disease didn’t have any care possibilities, to where we are today – marking 500 transplants in children whose lives have been transformed.”
Apollo Hospitals receives liver transplant patients from over 50 countries. Patients from several countries including Philippines, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, CIS, Myanmar and many other have found transformational and affordable solutions in India through Apollo. A patient can undergo liver transplant surgery in India at an affordable cost with excellent outcomes.
Also sharing his views, Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, stated, “We are proud to have reached this important milestone and are honored to have been able to help so many children and families in need. Over the years several challenges have been overcome – transplants in small babies weighing as little as 4 kgs, transplants in babies and children with serious medical conditions other than liver failure, ABO incompatible transplants when the family does not have a blood group compatible donor. We are so happy that our 500th patient is a baby girl and nearly 45% of our patients are now girls.
Pediatric liver transplants are complex and challenging procedures that require high level of skill and expertise. The medical team at Apollo Hospitals Group has some of the most experienced surgeons, nurses, and support staff in the field working together.
Dr. Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant, Liver Transplant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, said, “We have unmatched technical skills of our highly specialized surgeons and physicians, an infrastructure that is comparable with the best in the world and above all the faith of our patients that we have nurtured over time. We are now able to perform the most complex of liver transplants in babies where the size of the blood vessels is as small as 3-4 mm. Pediatric liver transplantation requires a multidisciplinary team and success requires harmonization between all the team members. The Apollo Liver Transplant Program is now consistently performing close to 50 pediatric liver transplants a year, a number only a handful of centres in the world have achieved”.
Apollo’s 500th Pediatric Liver Patient Story – Prisha
In the heart of Bihar, in a small town Jahanabad, a young middle-class couple joyously and reverently named their first-born daughter “Prisha”, literally meaning God’s gift. A teacher husband and homemaker wife, they made a simplistic, humble, undemanding couple looking forward to their journey as parents. The first few weeks were blissful but then they realized Prisha contracted jaundiced. An arduous trail from one doctor to another led to complete despair and anguish when they were told she had a disease that was a death sentence, biliary atresia that would cause her liver to fail.
They weren’t ready to give up and stepped beyond their humble reach to contact top specialists till they realized that a liver transplant would be lifesaving, and brought her to Apollo at about 6 months of age. Family and friends had tried to discourage them. The challenges were indeed multiple but were overcome by the family’s resolve and treating team’s commitment. A feeding tube was put in through her nose to supplement feeds and achieve nutritional rehabilitation for the transplant, while preparations were being made. Her mother donated a part of her liver and Prisha recovered beautifully after a successful liver transplant. Prisha weighed only 4.6 kgs at the time of the transplant
