Mumbai: Vikhroli man sheds 10 kg in two months to be able to donate part of liver to son

Nibhish Vaze with his mother Supriya and father Yogesh

Members of a middle-class family from Vikhroli had their lives turned upside down when they came to know that a liver transplant was the only option to save their child's life. The two-year-old's father was found eligible for a donation, but he was overweight. The determined father then lost 10 kg in two months to be able to donate part of his liver to his son. The transplant was successfully performed on the boy in October at the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children.

The child, Nibhish, was born with PFIC-2 (Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis) and had jaundice immediately after the birth. PFIC-2 causes progressive liver disease and gradually liver failure. Nibhish was 2 years old when his parents were told that he would require a liver transplant.

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Determined father

"I found that my child had the genetic defect passed on from me. So the doctors sought multiple opinions from foreign experts regarding me as a donor for him. After tests, they said I was a match for donation. But I was overweight at 86 kg. I lost 10 kg to be fit to donate part of my liver to my son," said Yogesh Vaze, who works for an IT firm. "I was put on a protein diet, with no carbohydrates and lots of leafy vegetables. I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer to work out two hours every day," Vaze added.

Nibhish with his father Yogesh Vaze at the hospital after the surgery

Talking about the cost of the surgery, he said, "I had approached two private hospitals to know the cost for the transplant. One hospital said R27 lakh and the other Rs 24 lakh. As a middle-class person, the amounts were huge for me. But the officials here at Wadia haven't yet asked for a paisa so far. I would like to thank Wadia hospital doctors and staff for the care they have given my child."

Doctors' decisions

Dr Ira Shah, head, Department of Hepatology at Wadia hospital, said, "PFIC-2 is an extremely rare condition that affects one in 50,000-1,00,000 newborns worldwide. The paediatric liver transplant requirement is 1 to 2 per million population (worldwide). In PFIC, there are major defects in the handling of bile acids by the liver, leading to severe jaundice in infancy/early childhood and imminent liver failure in a few years. The only treatment is liver transplant surgery. In the past year, Nibhish was admitted to the hospital four times in very critical condition, every time requiring ICU care. This time we utilised his stay to build up his nutrition to make him fit to sustain such a major surgery."

Nibhish has still not been discharged by the hospital. There are three more patients in queue for transplants at Wadia. Nibhish's mother Supriya wanted to donate a part of her liver, but was diagnosed with uncontrolled diabetes.

Dr Pradnya Bendre, professor and head of paediatric surgery at Wadia hospital, said, "We then asked his father to consider a donation. We got his tests done and found him to be overweight. A strict diet plan with many exercises was followed and he was ready for surgery in two months. On October 16, Nibhish underwent a living donor liver transplant. The surgery took seven hours for the donor and eight hours for the recipient."

"The child was in the ICU for 28 days and today doesn't need oxygen support. He is stable and has food," an official from the hospital said. "It was the first transplant at the hospital so we also took assistance from Dr Darius Mirza, head of Birmingham Children Hospital in the UK," the official added.

Dr Mini Bodhanwala, CEO of Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, said, "It was a proud moment for us to successfully perform the transplantation and give a new lease of life to this patient at our newly launched liver and kidney transplant facility. Wadia hospital also has provision of financial support for families from local authorities, charity organisations, and crowd-funding."

Oct 16
Day the transplant took place