Punjab: ILBS-Mohali performs first-ever liver transplant at state-run institute

Mohali, Dec 9 (PTI) The Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS) in Mohali has conducted Punjab's first-ever liver transplant at a state facility, Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said on Tuesday.

Singh said this was the first time in Punjab's medical history that such a delicate and complex surgery had been accomplished in a government institute.

The minister, in a statement, said that the lifesaving intervention was provided to a patient at Rs 12 lakh, which costs around Rs 45-50 lakh at private hospitals.

The transplant was performed on November 27, and the recipient is recovering well, expected to be discharged in a day or two, he added.

The minister congratulated the medical team led by the PILBS director and professor and head of Hepatology, Dr Virendra Singh, and professor & head of Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Dr K Rajasekhar.

Singh also expressed gratitude to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, for providing the organ from a brain-dead person from Haryana.

He also thanked the donor's family for the organ donation, which gave a new lease of life to multiple individuals.

An upcoming 175-bed patient care block is in the pipeline at PILBS, further expanding the Institute's capacity and services, he said.

The minister said the newly built diagnostic block is now operational with the installation of a digital subtraction angiography machine.

The supply order for a new CT scanner has already been placed, while the tender process for a new MRI is in progress, and a new automated biochemistry analyser will be fully functional within one week, he said.

A state-of-the-art blood bank has also been established, which will be one of the most advanced in Punjab.

Singh emphasised that the state government is equipping all government medical colleges with secondary and tertiary care facilities, including existing neuro and cardio labs.

He announced that the Government Medical College, Patiala, is set to become the first state-run facility to offer renal transplantation by next year. All government medical colleges will soon be established as organ-receiving centres, he added.

The minister said the Punjab government has finalised agencies for implementing the Rs 10 lakh cashless treatment under Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna, and it will be formally launched across the state in January. PTI CHS VN VN