Liver Airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram Transplanted into a Patient at Aster Medcity

KOCHI:
Liver of 57-year-old Rajendran Pillai of Kollam, who was declared brain dead at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday morning, has transplanted into 47-year-old patient at Aster Medcity on Sunday.

The liver was allocated to the patient admitted at Aster Medcity after Rajendran Pillai’s relatives agreed to donate his organs. The liver was brought to Kochi in a flight of Air India at 7 am on Sunday by a medical team under Dr. Mathew Jacob, Multi Organ Transplant Surgeon, Aster Medcity.

The patient was selected from the persons registered with the Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS) Mrithasanjeevani – an online transplant registry of patients on the waiting list for kidney, liver, heart and pancreas transplants in the state initiated by the state government. The liver was transplanted into the patient in an 8-hour-long surgery by a medical team led by Dr. Mathew Jacob.

“The great cooperation and understanding from airport authorities, CISF, Air India staff and pilot allowed the liver box to be taken inside the passenger cabin,” said Dr. Mathew Jacob. He added that after successful surgery the patient is stable and under observation in ICU.

Dr. Rommel S., Senior Specialist, Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgeon and Dr. Sangeeth P. S., Senior Specialist, Anesthesiology, were also part of the medical team.