Patna: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna has successfully performed its first Living Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT), marking a significant milestone in the institute’s efforts to establish a comprehensive liver transplant programme.
The procedure was performed by the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at AIIMS Patna under the leadership of Prof. (Brig.) Dr. Raju Agarwal, Executive Director, AIIMS Patna.
The institute had earlier achieved another major milestone with Bihar’s first Deceased Donor Liver Transplant (DDLT). With both deceased-donor and living-donor transplant procedures now performed, AIIMS Patna is strengthening its capabilities in advanced liver and hepatobiliary care for patients from Bihar and neighbouring states.
54-year-old Patna man undergoes transplant
The recipient was a 54-year-old man from Patna suffering from autoimmune hepatitis, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks liver cells, potentially leading to progressive and irreversible liver damage.
As the disease progressed to end-stage liver disease, liver transplantation became the definitive treatment option.
The patient’s wife volunteered to become the living donor and donated a portion of her healthy liver. Both the donor and recipient underwent detailed medical investigations and comprehensive pre-operative evaluations to assess their fitness and ensure the safety and suitability of the procedure.
Complex procedure requires multidisciplinary coordination
Living donor liver transplantation is among the most complex procedures in modern surgery. It involves two major operations performed in close coordination — the removal of a portion of the liver from a healthy donor and the transplantation of that liver segment into the recipient.
The procedure requires precise reconstruction and joining of major blood vessels and bile ducts, along with intensive perioperative and postoperative care.
The liver’s ability to regenerate is one of the key factors that makes living donor transplantation possible. Following transplantation, the remaining liver in the donor and the transplanted liver segment in the recipient can regenerate and grow over the following weeks and months.
Transplant programme led by Surgical Gastroenterology team
The liver transplant programme at AIIMS Patna has been developed under the leadership of Prof. Utpal Anand, Head, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, with Dr Kunal Paras, Dr Basant Narayan Singh and Dr Kislay Kant as core faculty members.
The programme is supported by a multidisciplinary team, including Prof. Umesh Kumar Bhadani, Dr Kunal Singh and Dr Rajnish Kumar from Anaesthesiology, Prof. Rajeev Nayan Priyadarshi from Interventional Radiology and Prof. Ramesh Kumar from the Department of Gastroenterology.
The transplant was performed in coordination with the team from the Centre for Liver and Biliary Sciences (CLBS) under the leadership of Prof. Subhash Gupta.
The procedure involved close coordination among transplant surgeons, hepatologists, gastroenterologists, anaesthesiologists, critical care specialists, interventional radiologists, microbiologists, nursing staff, technicians and the blood bank team.
Such multidisciplinary collaboration is critical at every stage, from donor evaluation and surgery to intensive care and postoperative recovery.
Financial assistance for BPL patients
A key component of the AIIMS Patna liver transplant programme is its focus on making highly specialised treatment accessible to patients from economically weaker sections.
Financial assistance for the first five eligible patients from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families has been provided through the AIIMS Relief Fund, substantially reducing the financial burden associated with the complex and life-saving treatment.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent eligible patients from accessing advanced medical care.
Institutional support for liver transplant programme
The establishment of the liver transplant programme has been supported by the leadership of Prof. (Brig.) Raju Agarwal, Executive Director, AIIMS Patna.
The programme also received administrative and institutional support from Nilotpal Bal, Deputy Director (Administration), AIIMS Patna, and Prof. Prashant Kumar Singh, Medical Superintendent, AIIMS Patna.
Their support contributed to infrastructure development, logistics, administrative coordination and financial assistance required for implementing the transplant programme.
The successful first Living Donor Liver Transplant marks the beginning of a comprehensive liver transplant programme at AIIMS Patna, with the aim of bringing advanced transplant care closer to patients and families in Bihar and neighbouring states.
The institute said the development of the programme at a government healthcare institution could help improve access to specialised liver transplantation for patients who may otherwise face financial and geographical barriers to treatment.
The achievement further strengthens AIIMS Patna’s capabilities in hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal and transplant care, while expanding access to complex tertiary healthcare services within Bihar.
