Talking about the surgery, liver transplant surgeon Dr Mohamed Rela said, “Since the patient was very ill, a unique solution was put forth in the case of David Marshall, where his son, whose blood groupdid not match his father’s, agreed to donate his liver.

After a detailed team discussion in the best interest of the patient, it was decided to go ahead with transplantation after ‘desensitisation’ of the recipient blood by removing antibodies that can cause severe rejection. This is called ABO incompatible liver transplantation, a lifesaving surgery.”

The health status of the patient was monitored closely and the transplantation was carried out successfully in Kumaran Hospitals by the team led by Dr Rela. After the successful transplant surgery, the patient recovered well in the ICU and was shifted to the regular ward from where he was discharged after complete recovery.

Though Tamil Nadu is the pioneer in organ transplantation and the State tops the table of successful liver transplantations performed in India, the numbers are still far away from adequate.