New Delhi: On November 15, 1998, Sanjay Kandasamy from Kanchipuram, was only one and a half year old when a team of doctors from Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital performed a life-saving liver transplant on him, making him the first paediatric liver transplantee in the country. Now 25 years after his transplant life has come full circle for Kandasamy as he is now a successful doctor himself, practising medicine at a local hospital in his hometown in Kanchipuram.
Mr Kandasamy was born with biliary atresia, a liver disorder that causes a blockage in the tubes (ducts) that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. This congenital condition occurs when the bile ducts inside or outside the liver do not develop normally. In Mr Kandasamy’s case, his condition led to liver failure and he eventually needed a transplant. When the proposal for a transplant was discussed with the family, Mr Kandasamy’s father agreed to become the donor without any hesitation. The transplant was then performed at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi by a team of experts.