Wife donates liver despite high risk to save husband, who was suffering from liver cirrhosis.
Picture for representational purpose only.
Bangalore: Not even in his wildest dream had 36-year-old Arun Kumar, a native of Nagarbhavi, Bangalore thought that his indigestion problem would turn into liver cirrhosis over years.
Arun moved to New Jersey in the US with his wife four years ago and was working as a pharmacist. Everything was going smoothly for about two years, but then suddenly Arun started feeling weak and could not work properly.
Arun got himself checked with a primary care doctor at New Jersey and he was diagnosed with fourth stage liver cirrhosis and his belly was filled with fluid. He was then referred to a gastroenterologist. Despite several medications, Arun was not recovering. Arun’s wife Shilpa Arun Kumar said, “We tried all medication, but he was not getting better.
The only option left was liver transplant. I was ready to donate a part of my liver, but since my blood group was O-negative and my husband’s B-positive, the doctor whom we were consulting said it was not possible.”
Arun started searching the internet for possible treatment options across the world, and also India.
It was then that Arun got in touch with Dr Basant Mahadevappa, Consultant, Liver Transplant Surgeon, HCG Hospitals. Dr Mahadevappa said, “The patient was in a difficult situation, as he was decompensated with severe ascites (liquid in the abdomen).
He had a rare auto-immune hepatitis failure. His wife came up for donation, but the anatomy of the donor was complicated, and was left with no other donor. With a multi-disciplinary team approach we took up the challenge and performed the transplantation in 16 hours. The patient and the donor are doing well and are on regular follow-up.”
Arun had flown in to Bangalore in June 2013 and after about a month of hospitalisation at HCG Hospitals the transplant was done. Dr Basant said, “It was not an easy call to take as we were running out of time. As soon as we fulfilled the criteria of the state government required for organ transplant, the procedure was done.”
An elated Arun said, “I am lucky to find a donor in my wife. She came forward to donate her liver, though it was a high-risk surgery. I have recovered and got a new lease of life. I can now walk properly and in another three-four months I will be able to get back to work.”
( Source : dc )
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