17-month-old Mumbai girl gets new lease of life

Mumbai: A 17-month-old baby girl has become the youngest liver transplant recipient in Mumbai at privately-run Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH). Her father donated part of his liver to the baby who was suffering from Biliary Atresia, a rare liver disease. The infant is set to be discharged on Wednesday.  

The baby’s father, Sachindra Sinha, donated a lateral liver small part to his daughter who is set to go home on Wednesday, which happens to coincide with World Liver Day.

The transplant surgery was performed in January this year. Within four weeks of birth, baby Ashvi’s started showing symptoms including frequent fever, swollen abdomen and jaundice.

She was later diagnosed with a complicated liver problem called Biliary atresia at just two months of age. After medication and a surgery, doctors in her hometown suggested an urgent liver transplant, for which the family came to Mumbai.

Talking to The Asian Age, Dr Vinay Kumaran, who conducted the liver transplant surgery said, “She hails from Raipur and was earlier operated on at her home town. However, that surgery was not successful so we again took a small portion of her father’s liver and performed the surgery."

“When she was brought to us, she was suffering from jaundice and a swollen abdomen as all the bile had accumulated in the liver, thereby endangering it. While our team started planning her transplant immediately, identifying a liver donor, getting her nutritionally fit and infection free took us about three months,” he said.

The baby’s father turned out to be a perfect match for her and donated a part of his liver to save her in January 2017, making her the youngest child to have undergone a successful liver transplant in western India.