A State-of-the-Art Liver Transplant Unit at The King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital
In the early 90s, around 2,00,000 people were dying each year due to liver diseases and the lack of opportunities for receiving a transplant, and only a few affluent Indians could afford the treatment overseas. Long waiting periods and the uncertainty of attracting a donor added to the fatalities caused by this disease.
Even though, there has been considerable progress since, liver transplant facilities are not easily available to most Indians yet. Until recent times, liver transplant in India was a very expensive procedure conducted only in private super-specialty hospitals. With a keen desire to provide quality and affordable health care to people across socio-economic strata, the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation supports liver transplant programmes in public hospitals.
The Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation supported KEM hospital in developing a comprehensive liver transplant programme by setting up the first ever liver transplant facility in a public hospital. By initiating the liver transplant programme, KEM hospital has demonstrated that public hospitals can also provide advanced medical facilities to people from marginalised sections of the society.
The support rendered by the Foundation enabled the KEM hospital to establish a state-of-the-art facility to conduct the transplants, as well as to acquire expertise in one of the most technically challenging transplant operations. It also helped in creating awareness about the availability of a low-cost, good-quality transplant facility in a public hospital.
The King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College (GSMC) was founded in 1926. With a staff strength of 390 physicians and 550 resident doctors, the 1800-bed hospital treats about 1.8 million out-patients and 85,000 in-patients annually, and provides both basic care and advanced treatment facilities in all fields of medicine and surgery, almost free of cost.