Mumbai doctors give a 6-kg baby a new liver in a 10-hour surgery, with his mother as donor
The one-year-old had advanced liver disease from a rare genetic disorder; he went home after 15 days.
- 10-hour living-donor liver transplant
- Mother discharged after 5 days
- Baby discharged 15 days after surgery
The case
The one-year-old boy had Alagille syndrome, a rare inherited condition that damaged his liver and also affected his heart and kidneys. Since birth he had suffered constant itching and dark urine, and he struggled to gain weight. Doctors at Narayana Health SRCC Children's Hospital in Mumbai decided a liver transplant was his best chance.
The surgery
His mother donated part of her liver after genetic tests showed she did not carry the same faulty gene. A team led by Dr Sanjay Kumar Goja and Dr Ashok Thorat carried out the 10-hour living-donor transplant. The baby spent a week in the transplant ICU and was discharged 15 days after surgery; his mother went home after five days. He will still need regular check-ups for his heart and kidneys.
