Panel to draw norms on liver transplant

A 6-member panel will soon be formulating guidelines for liver transplantation for the ministry of health and Federation of Indian Chambers Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The committee met for the first time last month.

“The ministry has decided to formulate practice guidelines for various disciplines in medicine. The guidelines are being formulated to ensure maintenance of standards and accountability,” said Dr Subash Gupta, consultant liver transplant surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo hospital, Delhi who will be chairing the committee that will formulate guidelines for liver transplant.

Liver transplantation is one of the most complex surgical procedures in medicine.

Many liver transplants have resulted in failure.

Explaining the complexities of a liver transplantation, Dr Dharmesh Kapoor, one of the panelists said, “Liver is a complex organ. A patient with liver failure has various other problems. He has a predisposition to infection, blood clotting is weak, blood pressure is low, among other issues.”

There are very few hospitals in the country that have dedicated liver transplantation centres.

The guidelines, according to Dr Gupta, are an academic exercise that will be reviewed by peers in the industry. FICCI is involved in this process to ensure that there are set guidelines for insurance companies.

The same guidelines may also be followed by the consumer court which looks into complaints related to rejection of insurance claims.