Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. I Issue NO.: 2 (February 1999)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568

A Successful Liver Transplant in Chennai

Indian Transplant Newsletter.
Vol. I Issue NO.: 2 (February 1999)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568
Print PDF


The liver transplant activity livened up again when the successful liver transplant patient Chandra Sekar Pillay, 50, went home  from Apollo Hospital Chennai, after a post operative  stay of a fortnight.  Five liver transplants have been done in Chennai so far at Madras medical Mission, Apollo and Stanley Hospital. Majority of the recipients died during the post operative period.

Mr. Pillays’s story started in December 1997 when he read about the “Apollo Liver Registry” on the internet and contacted Dr. Veena Girinath. He was put on the waiting list and then he received the greatest gift of all – an organ donation from a road traffic accident victim.

The surgery was done by a team headed by the Singapore based transplant surgeon, Dr. K. C. Tan, at the liver transplantation unit of the hospital.  Dr. Veena Girinath, transplant surgeon and co-ordinator of the programme and Dr. T. K.  Neelamegan, transplant surgeon, led the rest of the team.  Liver transplantation is one of the most taxing of surgeries. The process of harvesting the organ from the cadaver followed by transplantation of the organ took nearly  a whole day. Dr. Tan said that  after the first three months the survival rate would be about 85 percent for a good candidate. The cost of the surgery was 15% of that in the west, where it costs about US$250,000. However even this in Indian currency would amount to  RS 15 lakhs. The liver transplant programme in India is likely to suffer from financial constraints.


To cite : Shroff S, Navin S. A Successful Liver Transplant in Chennai. Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. I Issue NO.: 2 (February 1999).
Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue2/A-SUCCESSFUL-LIVER-TRANSPLANT-IN-CHENNAI-712.htm

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