Little Kushini is just two years old. She seems happy and healthy. But it was not so long ago that her mother and father, A. M. H. Nadeeka and Samantha Rajapaksha from Anuradhapura were told by doctors in Sri Lanka that Kushini who had a liver disorder wouldn't survive for long.
But she did. Kushini is now a happy and healthy child, unlike the thin girl with a bloated stomach and pale skin some months ago. And all of this thanks to the Narayana Hrudayalaya Children's Hospital in Bangalore.
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| Dr. D’Cruz with Kushini and her parents |
Kushini is just one example of around 10 such cases of liver transplants performed on children at this hospital. It was Kushini's mother who had donated the liver.
At a news conference held last month Dr. Ashley J. D'Cruz, director, senior consultant and paediatric surgeon of the Narayana Hrudayalaya Children's Hospital explained that the liver transplant programme in India is still in its infancy with just a handful of centres performing this costly operation. Liver transplant is not done in Sri Lanka which is why this family had to look for opportunities elsewhere.
The Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital was founded by Dr. Devi Shetty in 2001 and has rapidly grown over the years and now offers complicated procedures such as liver, kidney, heart and lung transplants. A hospital which strives to provide medical care to the poor, it also has a telemedicine programme, a video conferencing system where doctors are able to speak to.
"Liver transplant is very challenging," Dr. D'Cruz said at the news conference. He adds that there are many reasons for liver disorder. "It could even be hereditary. Any one of the family could donate the liver," he explained.
The cost of the operation varies. Although the baby could leave hospital in a couple of months, they would continue to regularly perform tests and check-ups on the child. |
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