Two-year-old gets successful liver transplant at Wadia Children Hospital

Mumbai: A month after undergoing a successful liver transplant, a two-year-old boy, born with a rare disorder that causes progressive liver disease, was discharged from BJ Wadia Children’s Hospital, Parel, on Tuesday

Mumbai: A month after undergoing a successful liver transplant, a two-year-old boy, born with a rare disorder that causes progressive liver disease, was discharged from BJ Wadia Children’s Hospital, Parel, on Tuesday.

Mumbai, India - November 22, 2022: 3-year-old Nibhish Vaze, first paediatric liver transplant patient, shares light moments with his parents Yogesh and Supriya Vaze, at Wadia Hospital, Parel, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Nibhish, born to a Vikhroli couple—Yogesh and Supriya Vaze, was advised a liver transplant after he consulted a paediatrician at the Hospital in April this year after he had a fall and faced difficulty in walking.

“He was hospitalised four times this year and reported repeated jaundice. Liver transplant was the only cure,” said Yogesh.

Dr Ira Shah, head of department of hepatology, said Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC-2), which Nibhish was diagnosed with, is an extremely rare condition that affects one in 50,000 to 1,00,000 newborns worldwide. “

In PFIC, there are major defects in the handling of bile acids by the liver, leading to severe jaundice in infancy/early childhood and imminent liver failure in a few years. The only treatment is liver transplant surgery.

While his mother was medically unfit to donate a part of her liver, Yogesh was chosen as the donor. Nibhish underwent the surgery on October 16.

This was the first paediatric liver transplant at the hospital. “Our focus is to have a successful liver transplant programme for children. We are yet to make packages for the transplant, but they will be affordable,” said Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO.

A liver transplant in private hospitals costs close to ₹25 lakh, while it came around ₹13 lakh at Wadia Hospital. The hospital did not charge money to the family.