Thiruvananthapuram: Alia Fathima stopped wailing the moment Sreeranjini took her in arms. The doctors and nurses were not surprised. The child and the woman are bound by a liver.
The nine-month-old girl left the hospital on Wednesday after a successful liver transplant. Kerala High Court judge C K Abdul Rahim and hospital authorities were present there to bid her farewell.
Justice Rahim was part of a division bench that had ordered the admission of the child into the KIMS Hospital for a life-saving transplant. The court was acting on a habeas corpus writ petition filed by the child’s father who said his daughter’s treatment was being delayed because of issues in the family.
The bench asked for a report from the local sub inspector. In the police report submitted before the court, the Thiruvananthapuram city police commissioner had mentioned about the serious medical condition of the child.
Detailed examinations followed at the KIMS. The doctors found out that Alia Fathima was suffering from a rare condition which hampered the development of gall bladder. She had to undergo a liver transplant. There were two challenges. The child was underweight. She needed someone to share a liver.
Sreeranjini became her saviour. The resident of Poojappura offered to donate a part of her liver for the little child. Alia Fathima was operated upon for 16 hours under the watchful eyes of surgery chief coordinator Dr B Venugopal on April 7. She became the youngest and lightest child to undergo a successful surgery.
Dr Venugopal was assisted by Dr Shabeer Ali and Dr Shiras. The child had been admitted to the intensive care unit to avoid the risk of infection.
The state government allotted Rs 10 lakh for the treatment of the child, who came from a poor family. KIMS Hospital management pitched in with another Rs 10 lakh.
Justice Rahim, who drove down from Kochi to visit Alia Fathima, said the moment he heard the child was doing good was the greatest in his professional life.
KIMS Hospital has performed 52 liver transplants so far, group chairman and managing director M I Sahadulla said. Two of them were on children who were yet to turn a year old.
Vice chairman Dr G Vijayaraghavan, KIMS organ transplant chief coordinator Dr Praveen Muraleedharan and KIMS executive director E M Najeeb were also present for the farewell.