Dhriya, a six-month-old baby with congenital liver disease who was given a new lease of life through a liver donated by Aalin, the state’s youngest deceased organ donor, returned home safe and sound on Monday.
A statement issued by KIMSHEALTH, which carried out the liver transplant, said a liver transplant was the only viable option to save the child who was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition characterized by blockage of the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder.
The disease occurs when the bile ducts, either inside or outside the liver, do not develop normally. The disease affects approximately one in 70,000 newborns worldwide. She previously underwent the Kasai operation elsewhere, a procedure in which blocked bile ducts are removed and a new path is created for the bile to flow using part of the small intestine. Nevertheless, she developed complications including portal hypertension, refractory ascites, and synthetic dysfunction.
When 10-month-old Aalin was declared brain-dead and her parents decided to immortalize her by donating her organs, Dhriya’s lifeline opened. Aalin’s liver was a perfect match for the baby, after which Dhriya underwent a high-risk, twelve-hour liver transplant.
“It was an extremely challenging transplant given the age of the donor and the recipient. Nevertheless, we as a team accepted the challenge to restore hope and joy to Dhriya’s parents. The post-operative phase was equally challenging, requiring constant vigilance and coordinated expertise of intensivists, anesthetists, nurses and the entire multidisciplinary team,” the doctors said. The infant has recovered well and liver function has now stabilized, they added
The surgical team was led by Shiraz Ahmad Rather, Consultant and Head of Multivisceral Transplantation and Shabeerali TU, Principal Coordinator and Principal Consultant, Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Liver Transplant Surgery, KIMSHEALTH
Published – 16 March 2026 21:10 IST
