Bangalore: SPARSH Hospital, Yeswanthpur successfully performed a split liver transplant in which a single deceased donor liver is split into two livers that saved two lives.
The hospital had a young patient with severe head trauma. Despite all the treatment efforts, the patient was unfortunately declared brain-dead. The family of the deceased graciously agreed to donate all of his organs and the hospital immediately activated its multidisciplinary team to perform life-saving complex surgeries.
“India faces a severe organ shortage, with increasing waitlists for all types of organ transplants and limited donations. To address this challenge, several strategies are being explored to expand the donor pool. One such strategy is the split liver transplant technique, where a single deceased donor liver is divided into two parts, typically with the right portion transplanted into an adult and the left portion into a child,” explained Dr Goutham Kumar, Lead Consultant, Liver Transplant and HBP Surgery, SPARSH Hospital, Yeshwanthpur.
“After a thorough evaluation of both the donors and recipients, we decided to transplant the split liver into two adult recipients. The complex procedure involved splitting the liver into two functional lobes, one of which was transplanted into a 53-year-old male and the other into a 59-year-old female, both weighing over 70 kg, he said.”
Mentioning about the surgeries, Col Rahul Tewari, COO, SPARSH Hospital, Yeshwanthpur, said, “To split a deceased donor liver and transplant them successfully in two fully grown adults, I believe, is a very rare feat. It’s very important to choose the right recipients, and the process should be such that the liver is not kept outside the body for very long. A lot of things should fall into place at the right time.”
According to the hospital, the surgery was one of the rarest and complex in nature and was handled by a highly experienced multidisciplinary team. Altogether, post-organ donation, the liver and left kidney were transplanted at the hospital and the right kidney and the heart were sent to other health institutions of the city.
Joseph Pasangha, Group COO, SPARSH Hospitals, said, “Once organ donation approval came in, our multidisciplinary team immediately swung into action. Our team worked tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcomes for both recipients. The successful execution of a split liver transplant not only expands the donor pool but also offers hope to patients on waiting lists. We would like to also acknowledge the invaluable support and coordination provided by the State Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO Karnataka), Govt of Karnataka, Department of Health & Family Welfare, which played a pivotal role in the successful execution of this life-saving mission.”
