To mark World Liver Day, Aster hospitals organized a program to felicitate the donors who donated a part of their liver to save their family members. To create awareness, the unsung heroes (donors) shared their heartwarming stories of struggle and bravery. Padma Shree and former Indian Cricketer & Renowned Wicket Keeper, Dr. Syed Kirmani, was the Chief Guest. Dr. Sonal Asthana, Lead Consultant – Hepatobiliary & Transplant Surgery, Dr. Karthik K Raichurkar, Consultant- Hepatobiliary & Transplant Surgery, Dr. Naphene, Consultant Hepatobiliary & Transplant Surgery, Dr. Mallikarjun Sakpal, Consultant, Hepatology & Transplant Physician and Dr. Apurva Pande, Consultant- Hepatology & Transplant Physician were also a part of the event.Living-donor liver transplant is a surgical procedure where a part of the liver from a healthy living person is removed and transplanted into someone.
In this manner, the donor's remaining liver regrows and returns to its normal size, volume and capacity shortly after the surgery. And, the transplanted liver grows and restores normally in the recipient.Commenting on the need to create awareness on Living-donor liver transplants in India, Dr. Sonal Asthana, Lead Consultant – Hepatobiliary & Transplant Surgery, Aster Hospitals, said: “In India, people are still unaware of a living-donor liver transplant. It is often perceived by many that that process is not possible. A living-donor liver transplant offers a wide range of advantages. It offers an alternative to waiting for a deceased-donor liver. It also allows the recipient to avoid some possible health complications while waiting for a transplant. The increasing demand for organs available for transplantation hugely outweighs the supply of organs both from living and deceased donors. Unlike other transplants like heart and lungs, one may not need to wait for deceased-donor organs to get a liver transplant. Anyone, close family members or friends can donate their liver and save a precious life.
It is also a lifesaving procedure for the recipient where donating a portion of a liver carries lower risks for the donor.Padma Shree Dr. Syed Kirmani, 1983 World Cup Winning Team Member, Former Indian Cricketer & Renowned Wicket Keeper, said: “I would like to thank Aster for organizing this event. In our country, many people succumbed to death from liver failure due to unavailability of viable organ donors. Many are still in the waiting list for liver transplants, about 25-30 thousand liver transplants are needed annually but only about one thousand five hundred are being performed. Hence, there is a need to bring about more awareness among people. I am sure that such an awareness program will bring in a change and many people will come forward to donate their organs.
On this World Liver Day, I would also like to encourage people to stay healthy and fit to keep their liver-health healthy.”“We are very happy to see so many patients coming together to attend and be a part of today’s program. We hope that through this program, many will get aware about living-donor liver transplants and help them understand more about liver transplants”, said, Dr. Mallikarjun Sakpal, Consultant, Hepatology & Transplant Physician, Aster Hospitals.Dr. Apurva Pande, Consultant- Hepatology & Transplant Physician, Aster Hospitals, said, “We have witnessed a revolutionary change in the field of liver transplant over the last many years. However, there is always a shortage of donors. In order to address this issue, living donor liver transplantation was developed. From reducing the time to wait for a deceased donor and faster recovery, it also provides a better long-term survival rate than recipients of deceased donor livers.”