By RxPG News Service, [RxPG] New Delhi, Nov 24 - A leading private hospital here Friday claimed it has performed 100 liver transplants in five years.
'The liver transplant programme started in 2001 and so far we have completed 101 cases. Of these 58 cases were performed in 2006 only. This achievement makes us the first hospital in South Asia to perform such a large number of operations,' said B.K. Rao, chairman of the board of management of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
'In the past five years, India witnessed nearly 350 cases of liver transplant of which Ganga Ram Hospital is credited with the bulk of work,' Rao told reporters.
The hospital is carrying out almost two to three such cases in the past few months.
It gets patients from many foreign countries including Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Holland and Dubai.
'We have operated upon eight Pakistanis and eight Myanmarese so far. We get the maximum number of foreign patients from these two countries,' said A.S. Soin, the leading liver transplant surgeon of the hospital.
For a transplant, Soin said, they charge Rs.1.8 million for adults and Rs.1.2 million for children.
The procedure takes over ten hours and at least two operation theatres are used at the same time to complete the task.
'Out of the 101 cases only five were cadaver transplants -. The rest were live donor transplants,' said S. Nundy, another leading surgeon.
He said people in India do not usually donate their organs for medical purposes.
'If organs are readily available the operation can be completed in less time and cost.'
