UPA Chairperson Felicitates India's First Successful Liver Transplant Recipient as he Completes 15 Years Post Transplantation

NEW DELHI, November 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Sanjay Kandasamy had Undergone the Path-breaking Procedure as an 18-Month Child in 1998 at Apollo Hospitals Delhi

UPA Chairperson and Congress Party President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi today felicitated India's first successful liver transplant recipient, Sanjay Kandasamy from Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu who had undergone a liver transplant in November 1998 at Apollo Hospitals Delhi.

On the 15^th anniversary of his successful liver transplantation in India, Smt. Gandhi interacted with Sanjay and his family and said, "It is wonderful to see how the young infant in dire need of a transplant is today a healthy young man who himself wants to become a doctor. It is a testament not only on India's medical acumen but also of the tenacity of this young man. I wish him and his family the very best for the future and I would like to congratulate the institution for establishing liver transplantation in our country." 

Sanjay was born with a rare condition called biliary atresia, which is seen in 1 in 12000 babies. This is a condition in which there is no connection between the liver and the intestine, so the bile produced in the liver cannot be excreted and therefore damages the liver. These babies develop jaundice a few days after birth and the jaundice progressively increases. An operation to create bile flow, if performed before the age of 2 months can prevent liver failure. Unfortunately in India, most babies with biliary atresia are diagnosed after the age of 3 months, making this operation unsuccessful. This happened in Sanjay's case. Since his condition was deteriorating because of liver failure, his family decided to come to Delhi as a liver transplantation program was being established at Apollo Hospitals Delhi. Sanjay's father came forward to donate a part of his liver to give his son a new lease of life. Sanjay became the first child to undergone a liver transplant in India on 15^th November 1998 and made medical history. 

Dr Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "The success of the liver transplantation has established the low cost - high quality value proposition that India offers and has enhanced the reputation of Indian healthcare globally. The outcomes are comparable to the best in the West with a cost which is one tenth."

According to Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Apollo Hospitals Group, "Sanjay now leads a completely normal life, goes to school like other kids, enjoys meals, plays football, wants to become a doctor to save lives. Sanjay's success helped establish liver transplantation in India. The Apollo Transplant Program has now performed more than 1500 liver transplants, out of which more than 700 have been performed in the last two years. By performing 1200 solid organ transplants in 2012, the Apollo Transplant Program became the busiest solid organ transplant in the world. Today, we would like to thank Sanjay's family for their faith in us which helped the program achieve this landmark."

About Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, India's first JCI accredited hospital, is a joint venture between the Government of Delhi and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited. Commissioned in July 1996, it is the third super-specialty tertiary care hospital set up by the Apollo Hospitals Group. Spread over 15 acres, it houses 57 specialties with more than 300 specialists and more than 600 operational beds, 19 operation theatres, 138 ICU beds, round-the-clock pharmacy, NABL accredited laboratories, 24-hour emergency services and an active air ambulance service. Apollo Hospitals Delhi has the leading programme in kidney and liver transplant in the country. The first successful pediatrics and adult liver transplants in India were performed at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. The hospital is at the forefront of medical technology and expertise. It provides a complete range of latest diagnostic, medical and surgical facilities for the care of its patients. The Hospital has introduced the most sophisticated imaging technology to India with the introduction of 64 slice CT and 3 Tesla MRI, Novalis Tx and the integrated PET Suite. Indraprastha Apollo has also pioneered the concept of preventive health check programmes and has created a satisfied customer base over decades. The Hospital has been consistently ranked amongst the best 10 hospitals in India by The Week survey for the past few years.

About Apollo Hospitals

In 1983, Dr Prathap C Reddy, the architect of modern healthcare in India had launched the country's first corporate hospital -Apollo Hospitals Chennai. Over three decades, it has emerged as Asia's foremost integrated healthcare organizations with 61 hospitals, 1517 pharmacies and 102 diagnostic clinics. The Apollo Hospitals Group also offers health insurance services, healthcare IT services and has clinical research divisions with a focus on epidemiological studies, stem cell research and genetic research.

With a goal to develop skilled health human resources, the Apollo Hospitals Group currently has 1 Medical college, 8 Nursing Colleges, 3 Nursing Schools, 2 Management Institutes, 1 Physiotherapy College and 15 Paramedical Programmes affiliated to State Medical Universities under its not for profit organizations - Apollo Hospitals Educational Trust, Chennai and Apollo Hospitals Educational Research Foundation, Hyderabad. Collaborating with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India initiative of the National Skill Development Corporation, Apollo Medskills Ltd plans to contribute to the skilling requirements of the country by adding 4 lakh healthcare professionals to the industry by 2022.

Honouring Apollo Hospitals' commitment to healthcare, the Government of India had issued a commemorative stamp, the first ever for a healthcare organization. Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group was conferred the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in recognition of his unparalleled contribution to healthcare. For 30 years, Apollo Hospitals has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation.

Primary Media Contact: Parul Chabbra, [email protected], 91-9810588410

Secondary Media Contact: Kusum Sahijpal, [email protected], 91-9999973090