Affordable Liver Transplant Leveraging Medical Tourism In India
On average, the cost of a liver transplant ranges from Rs 2.5 crore in the US to Rs 1.5 crore in Singapore, whereas the 500th paediatric liver transplant at Apollo Hospital was done for Rs 18 lakh. This stark difference in expense along with optimum service will leverage medical tourism in India, said Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, while felicitating the successful completion of 500 paediatric liver transplants by Apollo Hospitals Group.
The doctor added that Apollo Hospitals receives liver transplant patients from over 50 countries. Moreover, with 90% success rates, the Apollo Liver Transplant program is a beacon of quality and hope for patients from across the world, he added.
Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "India is emerging as a world leader in organ transplantation. This milestone further reflects our commitment to advancing pediatric liver transplantation and providing the best possible care to our patients. I am immensely heartened at what this program has been able to achieve in a span of two decades. From a time when children with end stage liver disease didn’t have any care possibilities, to where we are today – marking 500 transplants in children whose lives have been transformed."
Pediatric liver transplants are complex and challenging procedures that require high levels of skill and expertise, said Dr. Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant, Liver Transplant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi. "Patients from several countries including Philippines, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, CIS, Myanmar and many other have found transformational and affordable solutions in India through Apollo. A patient can undergo liver transplant surgery in India at an affordable cost with excellent outcomes," the doctor added.
Dr. Anupam said, "We are proud to have reached this important milestone and are honoured to have been able to help so many children and families in need. Over the years, several challenges have been overcome: transplants in small babies weighing as little as 4 kgs, transplants in babies and children with serious medical conditions other than liver failure, ABO incompatible transplants when the family does not have a blood group compatible donor.
He also mentioned that the 500th patient being a baby girl fills them with immense happiness. Moreover, nearly 45 per cent of our patients are now girls and the ratio of male-female family donors is also around equal. "Our dedicated team of doctors, nurses, and support staff have worked tirelessly to provide the highest level of care and support to our patients and their families. From the time we performed the first successful liver transplant in India in 1998, the Apollo Transplant Program has performed more than 4100 liver transplants in children and adults," he added.
Dr. Neerav conveyed, "We have unmatched technical skills of our highly specialized surgeons and physicians, an infrastructure that is comparable with the best in the world and above all the faith of our patients that we have nurtured over time. We are now able to perform the most complex of liver transplants in babies where the size of the blood vessels is as small as 3-4 mm. Pediatric liver transplantation requires a multidisciplinary team and success requires harmonization between all the team members. The Apollo Liver Transplant Program is now consistently performing close to 50 pediatric liver transplants a year, a number only a handful of centres in the world have achieved".
The 500th Pediatric Liver Transplant Story
Apollo’s 500th Pediatric Liver transplant marks the story of an infant girl named Prisha, who has been given a new lease on life with the transplant. The spirit of small girl, her parents, and the doctors who conducted the procedure is a testament to the power of good will and optimum healthcare services in India.
A young middle-class couple in the heartland of Bihar, Jahanabad, joyously and reverently named their first-born daughter "Prisha", literally meaning God’s gift. A teacher husband and homemaker wife, they made a simplistic, humble, undemanding couple looking forward to their journey as parents. The first few weeks were blissful but then they realized Prisha contracted jaundiced. An arduous trail from one doctor to another led to complete despair and anguish when they were told she had a disease that was a death sentence, biliary atresia that would cause her liver to fail.
They weren’t ready to give up and stepped beyond their humble reach to contact top specialists till they realized that a liver transplant would be lifesaving, and brought her to Apollo at about 6 months of age. Family and friends had tried to discourage them. The challenges were indeed multiple but were overcome by the family’s resolve and treating team’s commitment. A feeding tube was put in through her nose to supplement feeds and achieve nutritional rehabilitation for the transplant, while preparations were being made. Her mother donated a part of her liver and Prisha recovered beautifully after a successful liver transplant.
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