The Indian liver trust is a voluntary, non-profit organisation established to with the aim of:
Promoting Organ Donation in India
Promoting Public Awareness and Primary Prevention of Liver Disease
Providing Financial Assistance to the needy patients seeking treatment for liver disease
Promoting ethical and scientific research in the field of liver disease and transplantation
Our objective is to create an environment where liver disease can be eradicated by primary prevention and liver health can be promoted by healthy living. For the unfortunate who end up with liver disease and cannot afford suitable treatment, our trust will guide them and help them financially when possible to obtain best available treatment. For patients who end up in situation where their only chance of survival is Liver transplantation and do not have a relative to donate organ, the only hope rests on deceased donor transplantation. As per current scenario of liver transplantation about 60% of patients waiting to receive a liver die on the waiting list. This is rather an unfortunate situation which can be prevented by promoting organ donation in our country. Our trust aims to promote and intensify the campaign for organ donation in partnership with like-minded organisation. As with all fields of medicine there is still a paucity of knowledge in the field of liver disease. Our trust will enable and promote ethical and scientific research which will give more hope to the patients suffering with liver diseases.
During my decade long tenure in the United Kingdom I was astonished at the efficiency of the organ donation activity. This was a result of constant effort to promote organ donation among public and the tireless work of the medical community. When I decided to trade the comfort of personal and professional life to the challenges and high satisfaction index of being a doctor in India, I returned back home to Chennai.
The organ donation scenario in Chennai and Tamilnadu was best in country but very poor compared to UK. Efforts to make this better were often encountered with discouraging opinion like “this is not UK”. I thought this was an easy way out of a challenge and the challenge we faced with organ donation in India was huge to say the least. The reason for this is both lack of awareness among public and disinterested medical fraternity.
When I moved to Coimbatore to head and start a new liver transplant centre the emphasis was on promoting organ donation. Through like-minded people and good community support we were able to promote organ donation in Coimbatore and western Tamilnadu as it has never been done before. The result was around 40 cadaver donation in 10 months.
I strongly believe that for organ donation to improve in India, public awareness needs to be done at a regional level, medical fraternity needs to be motivated and successful transplant centres need to be established at smaller cities. I also believe that cadaver donation has not taken off in India due to promotion of living donor liver transplantation and medical tourism. As a result, 85% of liver transplantations are living donor related. The potential for cadaver donation is huge in India and if utilised to the maximum will negate the need for living donor transplantations at least with regards to liver in the future.
Dr. A. Olithselvan is the Chairman and Consultant Hepatologist of Manipal Hospitals, India and is based in Bangalore. He was born in Pondicherry and has completed his undergraduate and post graduate medical training from the prestigious Jawaharlal institute of postgraduate medical education and research (JIPMER).
He went to the UK where he completed his Speciality Training in Gastroenterology (CCT-Certificate of Speciality Training) and sub-speciality training in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation (CSST-Certificate of Sub-Speciality Training) from Leeds University, UK. His formal training in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation helped him gain experience and knowledge in this field.
He is one of the few accredited Hepatologists in the country. He returned to India in 2011 after spending more than a decade in the UK to join Global Hospitals, Chennai as a Senior Consultant in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation. After a three and half year stint there, he moved on to Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH), Coimbatore as the Director of Liver Transplantation to establish the first liver transplant centre in western Tamilnadu. His passion to promote organ donation in India made Coimbatore as one of the most active cadaver liver transplantationcentres in the country during his tenure from July 2014 to May 2015.
To fulfil his objective of establishing the largest deceased donor liver transplantation network in India he moved to Manipal Hospitals, India in June 2015. Manipal Hospital, Bangalore was re-established as a leading Liver transplant centre in Karnataka under his guidance. Liver transplant centres across Manipal Hospitals in Salem and Vijayawada was also established under his chairmanship.
He has presented scientific papers in various National and International Journals and has been invited as Faculty for National and International Liver meetings. He is the founder President of Coimbatore Liver Club and member of Royal College of physician (UK), General Medical Council (UK), International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS) and Indian National Association of Liver Disease (INASL).
After graduation from Belarussian State Medical University (Sponsored by MCI as an exchange scholarship programme) in 1996, did post-graduation in General Surgery from Tata Memorial Hospital, which is a premier tertiary referral cancer centre ranked No.1 for cancer care in India. Following which completed 3 years of comprehensive surgical oncology residency programme and 1 year fellowship in Head and Neck oncology and 6 months in GI surgical Oncology. He was selected for the post of Clinical Fellow in upper GI and HPB Surgery at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, Ireland and completed 3 years as Clinical Fellow. He then moved to HPB , Liver transplantation unit in Dublin and completed 2 years as Registrar and one year as research registrar and earned MCh in St.Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin which is national centre for HPB and Liver transplantation where About 80-100 Whipples, 150+ liver resections and 60-70 liver transplants are performed annually. Following which he worked as Lecturer in HPB and Upper GI surgery for 6 months until Dec 2012.
In January 2013, he joined Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, India as consultant GI/HPB and Liver transplant surgeon. Apollo Hospital, Delhi has one of the world’s largest living related liver transplantation programme performing more than 300 liver transplants per year. Presently he is working at Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore as Chief of Liver Transplant and HPB Surgery.
Dr. Magnus Mansard completed his undergraduate and post graduate training from the prestigious JIPMER Institute. He underwent his hepato-billiary and liver transplant training in Asan Medical centre, Seoul and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, India
He was instrumental in establishing the first liver transplant unit in a tier 2 city in south India and performing the first successful liver transplantation in western Tamilnadu and Coimbatore. This was followed by establishing successful liver transplant units in Salem and Vijayawda. He is now the consultant HBP and liver transplant surgeon in Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore. He is keen on research involving stem cell therapy for treatment of liver disease and islet cell transplantation.
Each year thousands of people die in India waiting for an organ transplant due to lack of a suitable organ. These people die in spite of facilities which exist in India to perform transplantation. The organ donation rate in India is abysmally low at only 0.05 per million populations compared to 20-30 in western countries. Organ donation saves lives and the need for organ donation has never been greater. As on November 2015, 1600 patients for kidney, 534 for liver and 34 for heart are awaiting transplantations in Karnataka. Many of these patients will not be fortunate to receive an organ on time.
Organ donation happens from patients who are brain dead, usually as a result of trauma to the brain. The government of India passed an act in 1994 to broaden the act of organ donation and make it legal. All of us can be organ donors irrespective of age, sex, caste, religion and community. Children can also be donors after taking consent for organ donation from parents. Vital organs like liver, kidney, heart, lungs, and pancreas can be donated after brain death.For organ recipients a transplant is a second chance to life. It could mean a patient from death bed returning to normal lifestyle after transplantation. The act of donation could save up to 8 individuals and has the ability to comfort grieving families. “Many grieving families draw comfort from the fact that they are able to save many lives from the loss of their loved ones”, said Dr. Sunil Karanth, ICU Consultant.
Unfortunately the awareness about organ donation is extremely low in India and the chances to save many lives are missed.The government of India, with the view to promote organ donation has decided to celebrate 27th of November as “organ donation day” across the country. On the occasion of organ donation day, Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore have organised an event to felicitate the family of the donors whose noble gesture has saved many lives. Many staff members have also pledged to donate their organs after their death during this event.
The Liver is the body's chemical factory that performs some of the most important functions to keep us alive, like neutralizing harmful substances produced by our own body, digestion of food, fighting infections and storage of vitamins and minerals. It is an organ that has got the ability to carry out most of its functions even when the majority of the liver is damaged. Therefore, most people with liver damage have no complaints until the damage is very advanced.
Mr. Anand (name changed), a married 33 year old with a 4 year old child, previous fit and healthy, with no addictive habits, walked into the hospital noticing yellowishness of urine. Investigations revealed Acute Liver Failure due to Hepatitis E Infection needing emergency medical treatment. His condition dramatically deteriorated pushing him into coma, requiring ventilatory support. He needed an emergency Liver transplantation to save his life.
Read MoreBengaluru: A 50-year-old man waiting for a kidney transplant turned into an organ donor for a chronic liver patient here after he was declared brain dead.
Soon after he was declared brain dead, his family decided to donate his organs. His liver was transplanted to a patient from Delhi on Friday.
The brain dead patient, a government employee from Bengaluru, was suffering from chronic renal failure and was on dialysis for the past three months.
Read MoreA 30-year-old woman was successfully treated for severe brain swelling and sinking liver condition at Manipal Hospitals here recently. Dr. A Olithselvan, chairman and consultant hepatologist of the hospital in Bengaluru said that the patient from Dharmapuri district was treated for jaundice. She was diagnosed with acute liver failure which would require emergency liver transplant and the chances of survival were also slim. But the team took up the challenging task and she was treated for brain swelling and hepatitis B viral infection. V. Jayaraman, unit head said that the patient now leads a normal life.
Read MoreHis Eminence Dr. Madhu Krishan's Major Surgery Of His Liver Transplant on 13th Oct 2015 Under Dr. A. Olith Selvan, The Chairman Of Liver Transplant Department Of Manipal Hospital, Bangalore City
Read MoreAge did not become a barrier for organ transplant as the liver of a 79-year-old woman, who succumbed to intra-cerebral bleeding, was transplanted to a 55-year-old man from New Delhi. The woman, who was admitted to Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road earlier this week, was declared brain dead on Saturday. The transplant was done on Sunday. A. Olithselvan, chairman of the liver transplant division at Manipal Hospital, said that the liver was in good condition.
Read MoreThe liver of a 79-year-old brain dead woman was transplanted on a 55-year-old recipient at Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru
Rathna (name changed) was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as she had an internal bleeding in the brain. According to the doctors treating her, Rathna had intra-cerebral bleeding. The woman did not respond to the treatment and she was declared brain dead on Saturday. "Her husband, a retired army officer, gave his consent for organ donation", said Dr. A. Olithselvan, Chairman, Division of Liver Transplant, Manipal Hospitals.
Read MoreCOIMBATORE: Top medical institutions in the city have come together to start a club where latest techniques and options to treat liver failure could be discussed. Called the Coimbatore Liver Club, it brings together liver surgeons, doctors and medical equipment manufacturers.
Inaugurated last week by Dr Nalla G Palaniswami, chairman, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, the club members have decided to meet on the second Friday of every month to discuss updates and innovations related to the management of the disease.
"Hepatology is still largely an unknown specialization and is often considered a part of gastroenterology. Liver science has made tremendous progress in the past five years," said Dr Olithselvan, president of the liver club and director of liver transplants at KMCH.
Read MoreClad in a striped T-shirt and trousers, 49-year-old Munna Lal looked prepared on Thursday for a few questions on the liver transplantation he underwent on July 2 at Kovai Medical Center and Hospital in the city. His eyes lit up when two reporters struck a conversation with him in Hindi, after a press briefing by the hospital on the transplantation.
"Mujhe ghar jhaakhe araam karna hai" (I want to go back home in New Delhi and take rest), he said. It had been a torrid time for this technician in a public sector oil firm since January, when jaundice surfaced to indicate an irreversible disease in his liver. Hepatologist at KMCH A. Olith Selvan said most liver diseases did not show symptoms till they turned worseDiseases
Read MoreAlmost a decade ago, when Stanley Medical College managed to do a liver transplant at their less-than-fancy facility, private hospital administrators would have been worried. After all, liver transplants were reserved for an ‘exclusive’ set of surgeons and hospitals who demanded top dollar for plying their expertise. If public sector (read government-run) hospitals entered the fray and did a Rs 25 lakh surgery for a pittance, it would turn things around. It’s now 2013 and despite the economy being what it is, liver transplant prices are still extremely high – and Stanley is still the only State-run centre doing transplants. On World Liver Day, City Express takes a look at where things stand.
"We do not anticipate the cost coming down for liver transplant, because the expertise and the drugs that it requires are extremely expensive. It is also an extremely risky procedure that requires a lot of standby care," explains Dr. A Olithselvan, Senior Consultant Hepatologist at Global Health City. With liver transplants still costing upward of `20 lakh (MIOT hospitals announced last year that they were doing the most economic transplants at that cost) things are unlikely to change for the next decade or so, he adds. “When things become like public sector healthcare in the UK, then no one will worry about the cost of transplants,” he states.
Read MoreIt is more serious than you would imagine, "it's closer than you think", says the World Health Organisation, about hepatitis (liver inflammation). “That’s because, there’s not much awareness about the disease, though it figures among the four major diseases declared by WHO as global health problems, along with HIV-AIDS,” says Dr. A. Olithselvan, senior consultant, hepatology and liver transplantation, Global Health City.
Considering an estimated 4 per cent of Indians carry the hepatitis B virus or HBV (it may be as high as 10 per cent in tribal populations and villages) and another 1 per cent of Indians carry the hepatitis C virus (HCV), there is reason to sit up and take notice. “Many chronic carriers of HBV and HCV get affected by varying degrees of liver disease — cirrhosis or even complete liver failure in the end stage,” warns Dr. Ubal Das, consultant hepatologist and gastroenterologist, Apollo Hospitals. There is another chilling reason to take the hepatitis virus seriously — it can lead to liver cancer.
Read More 1 Read More 2Hepatitis B is more infectious than HIV and 100 per cent more dangerous, warn hepatologists, pointing out that about six lakh people die every year due to it. (July 28 is World Hepatitis Day, observed to create public awareness and prevent the disease’s transmission.)
According to WHO, more than 240 million people have chronic liver infections.
"The incidence of hepatitis B in India is 4-5 per cent, while hepatitis C is 1 per cent. Both B and C are dangerous and cause up to 90 per cent liver damage. Almost 80 per cent of liver cancer is due to these viruses," says Dr K. Narayanasamy, professor and head of the hepatology department, MMC.
"HBV can be prevented, but we don’t have vaccines for C. These days, newborn babies are vaccinated. If the mother is hepatitis B positive, newborns are given two types of vaccines – active and passive — within 72 hours of birth. Other newborns need only one," explained Dr Narayanasamy.
Read MoreMOHAN Foundation is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization started to promote organ donation in 1997 in Chennai by philanthropists and medical professionals led by Dr. Sunil Shroff.
MOHAN Foundation's Donor Card enables people to express their wish to become an organ donor. It is like making a will. By signing the 'Donor Card' you have agreed to organ donation. Keep the Donor Card with you always in your purse or wallet. Inform your close relatives about your wish to be an organ donor. The Donor Card also substitutes as an emergency card as it has the contact number in case of any emergency.
MOHAN Foundation provides you with a printable format of the Donor Card in not only English but also in Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Malyalam and Gujarati.
Trust Registration No.: | 1NR-4-00301-2016-17 |
Name of the Trust: | INDIAN LIVER TRUST |
Bank Name: | SYNDICATE BANK |
Branch: | BANGALORE MANIPAL HOSPITAL |
Address: | Syndicate Bank, Manipal Hospital, Airport Road, Bangalore, 560 017 |
Branch Code: | 000485 |
Account No.: | 04852010063924 |
IFSC: | SYNB0000485 |
MICR: | 560025066 |
* Tax Exemption Under 80G is Available