Mumbai Witnesses First Successful Bowel Transplant In 2024, 51-Year-Old Donor Saves Nagpur Man's Life

Mumbai witnessed the year’s first bowel transplant after a 51-year-old brain-dead patient’s family donated his organs on Thursday.

The 45-year-old recipient, who hails from Nagpur, lost his entire intestine two months ago after developing gangrene. While he was on artificial nutrition, his condition deteriorated, and he was slated for a live donor transplant surgery on Friday.

“He developed gangrene in his intestine due to a blood clot in the blood vessel of his intestine. His entire intestine was removed, and he was given artificial nutrition through his neck vein,” said Dr. Gaurav Chaubal, Director of the Liver, Pancreas, Intestine Transplant Program & HPB Surgery at Global Hospital, Mumbai, and the patient’s treating surgeon.

Dr. Chaubal added that while the patient was on the waiting list, his brother-in-law was undergoing evaluation for donation.

“We were prepared to take him up for live bowel transplant surgery on Friday. Luckily, we received a call from the ZTCC (Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee) informing us that the family of a brain-dead patient had donated his intestine,” he said. Dr. Chaubal added that the patient is stable and will be discharged in two to three weeks.

This was the seventeenth bowel transplant in the city, of which thirteen were from cadaver donors and four from living donors.

With Thursday’s cadaver donation, Mumbai is now approaching last year’s total cadaver organ donations. Last year, there were 50 cadaver organ donations.

“We are glad that organ donation has picked up. We saw two cadaver organ donations in 24 hours, which gave a second lease on life to seven people. The families also donated corneas. So far, we have seen 49 cadaver organ donations this year,” said Dr. Bharat Shah, General Secretary of the ZTCC.

After witnessing a dip in cadaver organ donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, donations began picking up in 2022, with 47 cadaver donations. In 2021, the city recorded 31 cadaver organ donations. While in 2019, Mumbai had 76 organ donors, the city saw only 30 donations in 2020.

“We are working closely with our subcommittees of intensivists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons to improve the detection of brain-dead patients. We meet monthly to help and guide each other in improving organ donation in the city. This has contributed to the improvement of cadaver donations,” said Dr. Shah.

The committee is also encouraging counselors to talk to patients’ relatives about donating bones, tendons, and skin. Last year, after a gap of three years, the city saw bone donations, with four bone donations recorded. “With the transplant program starting in public hospitals, we expect more cadaver organ donations to take place there. Right now, the majority of donations are happening in private hospitals,” added Dr. Shah.