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army hospitals
Pancreatic, lung transplants soon
Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, June 26
After a series of successful liver transplants at the Army’s Research and Referral (RR) Hospital in New Delhi, the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) is now planning to introduce pancreatic, lung and intestinal transplant procedures in its establishments.

A senior Army Medical Corps (AMC) officer said the matter was under deliberation and modalities concerning forming and training the initial teams, required infrastructure and allied facilities were on the drawing board. “Though the issue is in the conceptual stage, AFMS would be introducing these procedures in the near future,” he said.

Pancreatic, lung and intestinal transplants are complex surgical procedures and relatively new in India. At present, only a handful of top-end hospitals in the country have the expertise to undertake these surgeries.

A pancreatic transplant is required for certain diabetic disorders whereas lung and intestinal transplants are for pulmonary and digestive disorders, where part of or the whole organ has to be replaced.

About 40 liver transplants have been undertaken at the RR Hospital since the procedure was introduced in 2007 after a core multi-disciplinary team trained for the purpose in the United Kingdom and a new state-of-the-art set up was provided in the hospital.

The RR Hospital also conducted India’s first in situ split liver transplant, giving a new lease of life to two patients - a 14-month-old baby and a 25-year-old soldier. The organ was donated by the brain-dead wife of an officer and split into two.

Army doctors say measures were being initiated to make facilities for transplant procedures viable and effective. At present, there are just five military centres for kidney transplant and one each for liver and heart transplant that. These cater to the requirement of the entire Armed Forces and their dependents.