Mumbai News: KEM Hospital To Conduct Liver Transplants After 3 Years

Mumbai: The wait of 23 patients for liver transplant is likely to end shortly as the civic-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel, will soon start related surgeries after three years.

Moreover, a separate ward with eight beds will also be set up for transplant patients in the next two weeks.

Liver transplants surgeries stalled due to Covid

“Due to Covid, liver transplant was not performed (at KEM) for the last three years. Also, the hospital's license period to perform such a surgery had expired, which has been renewed last year,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde.

Meanwhile, the public health department has started emphasising on increasing intensive care unit (ICU) beds so that urgent cases don't need to wait or get transferred to other hospitals. Recently, a medical ICU with additional beds was built at KEM. Similarly, a separate ICU has been created for orthopaedic patients for recovery post surgery. Same provision has been made for the anesthesia department.

Seperate ICU ward for liver transplant patients

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a doctor said, “In the next two weeks, a separate eight-bed ICU will be ready. It will be dedicated to liver transplant patients and no other case will be admitted there.” The liver transplant surgery will be performed with the collaboration of doctors from the hospital's hepatology and gastrointestinal departments, the doctor added.

According to the zonal transplant coordination committee, there are 44 patients, including the KEM's 23 cases, awaiting liver transplant in Mumbai. Prior to Covid, the hospital had performed 19 such surgeries.