Ahmedabad, May 30 (IANS) A team of doctors from the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre here Friday performed the first ever liver transplant in Gujarat. “The liver transplant we performed on May 28 was the first of its kind in Gujarat and for a state-owned hospital,” said H.L. Trivedi, the director of the institute.

“We have been preparing for this event for the past one year. A team of three doctors were sent to Sweden for special training,” Trivedi told IANS Friday.

Kamlaben Punjabhai Vaghela,53, was the recipient. She had been admitted to the institute after liver failure due to Hepatitis C she had acquired during her pregnancy many years before. The liver was donated by relatives of 60-year-old Chaturbhai Pansaria, who was killed in an accident.

Trivedi said that the liver transplant procedure is one of the most complicated. There are three major surgeries involved. One for removing the liver from the donor, second for removing the old liver from the recipient and third for transplanting it on the recipient. “Only three corporate hospitals in the country can do it,” he said.

The operation was conducted by a team of three doctors led by Pranjal Modi and assisted by Veena Shah and Guruprasad Bhosale, he added.

“We imported the machinery (for the transplant) from Sweden. The cost for building a new operation theatre came to nearly Rs.6 crores (Rs.60 million),” he said.