Little did 34-year-old Reema (name changed) from Sangamner in MaharashtraтАЩs Ahmednagar district know of 51-year-old Savita (name changed) from Buldhana district or vice versa, but their husbandsтАЩ chronic ailmentтАФliver cirrhosisтАФhas brought their families together.
Desperate to save their spouses from near-certain death, Reema and Savita agreed to donate a part each of their livers to them. However, as their blood groups did not match, a doctor advised a swap liver transplant. SavitaтАЩs blood group matched with that of ReemaтАЩs husband, a businessman, while ReemaтАЩs blood group matched with that of SavitaтАЩs husband, a 54-year-old schoolteacher.
тАЬAlthough each donor was related to one of the recipients, their livers were not compatible,тАЭ recalled Dr Bipin Vibhute of the Sahyadri Superspeciality Hospital at Deccan Gymkhana in Pune. He performed a two-way transplant that both families agreed to on March 13. The gruelling 20-hour-long surgery across four operation theatres at the hospital marked the cityтАЩs first swap liver transplant.
Two months on, both the donors and recipients have recovered and are organising a meet-up soon. When contacted, Reema and Savita told The Indian Express how they cherished this unique bond. тАЬWe were so scared but decided to go ahead with the doctorтАЩs suggestion. We had tried all methods to save our husbands, but this was the best solution,тАЭ said Savita, whose daughter is an Ayurveda physician in Pune.
The two transplants were carried out concurrently by performing surgeries on the two donors and two recipients. A 25-member medical team including 11 doctors collaborated in four operating theatres for more than 20 hours to accomplish the Herculean task, according to Dr Vibhute, the lead surgeon.
тАЬSwap transplants had taken place in prominent cities like Mumbai and Delhi before, but the one done in Pune was the first of its kind. Such exchanges prove to be life-saving for recipients whose relatives are medically fit but cannot donate due to mismatched blood groups or liver size,тАЭ he added.
Dr Vibhute emphasised the significant role that patient counselling plays before such procedures. A major challenge was to perform four surgeries simultaneously in as many operating theatresтАФright from administering anaesthesia to completing the transplant, he said.
