Liver transplant in Pune amid Covid pandemic

17/5/2020

PUNE: An organ from a brain-dead accident victim helped save the life of a 62-year-old woman in Pune. A 49-year-old farmer, who had an accident on May 11 at a village near Ahmednagar, was initially taken to a local hospital and then transferred to Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune. He was declared brain dead on May 14.

“His son expressed willingness to donate his father’s organs,” said Dr Sanjay Pathare, director of Medical Services at Ruby Hall Clinic. He said that despite aggressive critical care management, they were unable to save the patient, who had severe head injury.

While his other organs could not be donated, the liver was sent to Sahyadri Super Specialty Hospital at Nagar Road, which conducted the transplant on a 62-year-old woman with co-morbidities.

Dr Bipin Vibhute, head of the liver and multi-organ transplant department at Sahyadri Hospital, said the 62-year-old woman was suffering from diabetes, hypertension and liver cirrhosis. She also had symptoms of arthritis, jaundice and was suffering from portal vein thrombosis, which was getting severe.

The patient had tested negative for Covid-19 and the transplant was conducted with extra precautions and minimum staff, said Dr Dinesh Zirpe, liver transplant surgeon at Sahyadri Hospital. The recipient for the liver transplant was selected from the waiting list, and had to be someone not from a red zone to minimise risk of infection.