In a rare case, authorities have allowed Vidyaprasanna Gopinath, a canine trainer and consultant in Chennai, to donate his liver to his friend’s wife though the rules of organ donation typically allow only family members and relatives to donate their organs. The bond of friendship between Mr. Gopinath and his friend was forged during their post-graduate studies in the U.K., and relevant records established their association in the eyes of the authorities.
Both Mr. Gopinath and his wife had volunteered to donate their liver after seeing their friend’s post on social media. “My wife was not found medically fit and she was ruled out. I then underwent tests at a private hospital in Chennai and was found fit. It was not a hard decision to take and I then decided to go ahead,” he said.
Doctors in Delhi, where the surgery was performed, wanted to speak to him, he said, to make sure he knew what he was doing. “But I was completely sure,” he said.
The 44-year-old patient/recipient (identity undisclosed) had been diagnosed with chronic auto-immune hepatitis. In such cases, the body’s immune system attacks liver cells causing the liver to be inflamed. The patient had developed arthritis. This was a high risk case with many other complications.
“The surgery started on July 21 morning and we finished that evening,” said Dr. Subhash Gupta, chairman - Liver and Biliary Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket in South Delhi.
Eight days after the transplant, Mr. Gopinath was discharged with all his vitals normal. “One of the main fears most people have is what will happen to the donor after the transplant. I want to tell people that life goes back to normal within a short time.
“The portion of my liver that was removed gets regenerated. There are some initial restrictions about diet and exercise, but within three months, you can go back to your regular life,” he said.
In Delhi two teams of doctors worked on this case.