As COVID-19 poses a higher risk of developing serious complications for people with chronic liver diseases, a Delhi hospital has conducted over 10 emergency liver transplants in the last two months.

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In one such case, a 45-year-old man, who is a resident of Bihar, underwent a successful liver transplant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi. The patient had been suffering from chronic liver diseases for the past two years. His health condition deteriorated in the month of June following which he was admitted at a hospital emergency. Doctors say that a timely liver transplant was the only last resort to save his life. Therefore, the patient's 20-year-old daughter agreed to donate her liver, and the transplant was done successfully on 19th June.

Dr Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant for Liver Transplant at Apollo Hospital said, "The patient was a case of chronic liver ailments and had been suffering from jaundice. He came to emergency with internal bleeding. His investigations revealed that he had suffered from liver failure. For him, a liver transplant was the last resort and fortunately, his daughter agreed to donate her liver. The procedure of liver transplant happened successfully. While the donor was discharged within a week, the recipient was discharged after 20 days of the transplant on July 9."

"In the last 2 months, we have conducted over 10 emergency liver transplants at the institution. Due to fear of COVID 19, people with chronic health conditions have been avoiding visiting the hospital for regular check-ups, which has pushed a lot of patients in an emergency situation," Dr Goyal said.

"There has been a recent spike in cases of liver-related ailments owing to unhealthy lifestyle, thus leading to non-communicable diseases. All these act as pre-cursors to liver-related diseases. People who are diagnosed with chronic kidney ailments should understand the significance of undergoing liver transplants at the required juncture and not delay it to avoid further health complications," said Dr V Arun Kumar, Consultant for Liver Transplant at Apollo Hospital.