Mumbai: BMC-run KEM Hospital in Parel has successfully conducted a liver transplant with a living donor after 14 years. On June 3, a 35-year-old woman donated a portion of her liver to her nine-year-old son suffering from a genetic disorder, Wilson’s disease.
While the mother, Salma Khan, is likely to be discharged on Saturday, the boy, Abdullah, will stay in the ICU for another 10 days.
This is the second liver transplant in KEM Hospital in the last two months; in March, an 11-year-old boy got a whole liver donation from a brain-dead patient.
The premier teaching hospital had stopped live donor/related liver transplants after a donor—a 53-year-old mother who had donated to her son—died after the operation. Liver transplants are considered one of the most difficult surgeries because the organ is vital for regulation of blood and other vital chemicals, and the transplant requires coordination between multiple departments and scores of doctors and nurses.
On Friday, doctors from KEM Hospital’s gastroenterology surgery and gastroenterology medicine said the donor has recovered well and is fit for discharge. “Our recipient has started taking oral feeds and is recovering as per schedule,” said KEM Hospital dean Dr Sangeeta Ravat.
KEM Hospital had this year upgraded its liver ICU with funds from a donor and support from additional municipal commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde. “However, it’s the hard work by our doctors and nurses that have brought about the change in this family’s life,” said Dr Shinde.
The Khans moved to Mumbai from Kanpur in 2021 when Abdullah was six. “I have lost three children—a boy and two girls—to jaundice in the last 15 years. We came here to find a cure for Abdullah,” said Salma. One of her daughters who died at two was Abdullah’s twin.
After meeting several doctors across Mumbai, they came to KEM Hospital where Abdullah was for the first time diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, a condition in which copper deposits build up to toxic levels in several organs, especially the liver, brain and eyes.
“The doctors put him on medication that worked well for a year and he was doing well in school,” said Salma. It was when they left Mumbai for a visit to Kanpur that his condition deteriorated.
The family rushed back to KEM Hospital, where doctors detected acute liver failure. The family was counselled about liver transplant and Salma was found to be a match for Abdullah. “I wanted to defeat this disease that has made my life miserable since I got married 15 years ago. I realised that donating my liver was the only way to do so,” said Salma.
