Guwahati: Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Guwahati has performed the first liver transplant at a government medical institution in the Northeast, completing the complex surgery over 16 hours overnight, Assam Health Minister Ashok Singhal announced on Saturday.
Both the donor and the recipient are currently in the intensive care unit (ICU), with doctors describing the operation as successful, the minister said.
Addressing a press conference, Singhal said the transplant marked a significant milestone for Assam’s public healthcare system and the wider Northeast.
“This is the first liver transplant at a government institution in the entire Northeast. As I have been informed, no more than 10 government medical colleges in the country have the facilities to perform liver transplants,” he said, adding that the state hoped to expand the programme in the coming years.
The minister wished both the donor and recipient a speedy recovery.
However, Singhal cautioned that the successful procedure did not mean GMCH would immediately begin conducting liver transplants regularly. He said the hospital would need to strengthen the supporting medical infrastructure and allied services required for such complex surgeries.
“We can call this a milestone, but it does not mean we can perform a transplant every other day. The healthcare system does not work like that. We need to develop the allied services required for liver transplant operations,” he said.
Singhal also pointed to other recent advances in Assam’s medical sector, including a successful robotic heart surgery performed a few days earlier. He said these developments reflected the state’s efforts to strengthen its healthcare capabilities.
The minister said the liver transplant was made possible through the coordinated efforts of specialists from Assam and other parts of the country. The surgical team included Dr Senthil Kumar from Andhra Pradesh, along with local doctors who assisted in the procedure.
He emphasised that a liver transplant requires the collaboration of several medical departments, including anaesthesiology and radiology, in addition to the surgical team.
The successful operation marks an important development for public healthcare in the Northeast, where access to highly specialised procedures has remained a challenge. Further updates on the recovery of the donor and recipient are awaited.