For years, I have looked into the eyes of patients from our own communities in Bihar—farmers, teachers, fathers, mothers—stricken with end-stage liver disease. I have seen the despair that comes with the diagnosis, followed by the crushing realization that their only hope for survival lay hundreds of miles away, in metropolises like Delhi or Chennai. The financial ruin, the emotional toll, the sheer logistical impossibility for many was a sentence in itself.
It was this profound gap between need andaccess that fueled my mission. As a surgeon dedicated to the people of this state, I, along with my tireless team at AIIMS Patna, made a pledge: to build a transplant program that would stand tall within Bihar. Today, I write not just as a doctor, but with a heart full of humility and pride, to tell you that we have kept that promise. We have successfully performed the first successful cadaveric liver transplant in the history of Bihar.
This was not merely a surgical procedure; it was the culmination of years of meticulous planning, assembling a world-class team, and honing the complex skills that such a life-saving endeavour demands. The journey from conceptualizing a state-of-the-art transplant unit in Patna to holding a donor liver in my hands, ready for a new life, has been the most challenging and rewarding of my career. The 12-hour surgery was a testament to the incredible precision and teamwork we have cultivated here. Every connection of a minute blood vessel, every moment of decision, was underpinned by a singular focus: to give our patient, a 45-year-old man , a second chance at life.
Seeing him today, recovering well and embracing his family, is a moment of profound professional and personal fulfilment. It validates every obstacle we overcame.
However, this medical triumph has a hero who is not in the operating theatre. The true hero is the anonymous donor—a individual who, in their passing, gave the ultimate gift of life. Their family, in their moment of immeasurable grief, made a decision of incredible courage and compassion. This act is the very bedrock upon which transplant medicine stands.
This is where I need your help, the people of Bihar. My team and I have proven that we have the skill, the technology, and the will to perform these miracles right here at home. But a surgeon’s skill is futile without the gift of an organ. Our first successful transplant must not be a solitary feat; it must become the new normal.
I appeal to you today to become a part of this life-saving chain. Talk to your families about organ donation. Pledge your organs. Understand that from tragedy can spring hope, and from loss, life. One donor can save eight lives. Imagine the ripple effect we can create together.
We have opened a new chapter in Bihar’s healthcare history. We have shattered the glass ceiling. My vision, and the vision of AIIMS Patna, is to make our state a hub of medical excellence, so that no one has to leave its borders for a chance to live. With your support and belief in the power of donation, we will ensure that this first successful transplant is the foundation for thousands of second chances to come.
