NEW DELHI: Eleven children from the Philippines, who were suffering from chronic liver diseases, received a new lease of life after undergoing transplant surgeries at a leading private hospital here.
There were eight babies, below 18 months of age, among these children, a spokesperson of the Apollo Hospital said on Wednesday.
They arrived, accompanied by their parents, in two batches on August 15 last year and February.
The liver transplant surgeries of the 11 children took place during this period at the hospital, the spokesperson said.
"These children, between the age of 12 months (a boy) and 15 years, were in grave health conditions and needed immediate organ transplants along with specialised medical treatment, and any further delay could have been fatal," the hospital said in a statement.
It said that "a team from Apollo assisted the families in aligning permissions for travel, while ensuring safety, and brought the children to Delhi in specialised charter flights".
In the first batch, five of the children arrived, while the rest six came in the second batch, the spokesperson said, adding that seven girls and four boys underwent the transplant surgeries.
Doctors said that all the patients had different level of complications.
Those who required immediate medical attention were being managed by doctors till the time they completed their mandatory quarantine after arrival, the hospital said.
Delhi had reported a huge number of COVID-19 cases last year and this year, during the March-May period, the city saw a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Travel restrictions were in place when cases had peaked.
Four patients, contracted COVID-19 while they were staying at a hotel, post their surgery, but they all made a good recovery, doctors said.
The statement said that after compulsory quarantine, the children underwent successful lifesaving liver transplant procedures at the hospital.
Following post-operative observation and care, these children returned to their country on August 23, it said.
"At the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, we were regularly receiving patients from the Philippines and the South Asia region in pre-Covid times.
But ever since countries imposed restrictions on travel and movement due to the pandemic, a lot of patients have been deprived of life-saving treatment," Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals, Dr Anupam Sibal, said.
He said the hospital group is fortunate to have immense support from embassies and this helped ease processes.
"Post-transplant four children developed COVID-19 in their hotel while waiting for their flight. All four made an uneventful (with no complications) recovery," Sibal said.
Senior liver transplant surgeon at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Neerav Goyal, said, "In liver transplant, surgery is performed when patients have a high risk of dying from their disease in the ensuing weeks to month."
"Since COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, many of these patients were unlikely to survive the period of the pandemic without liver transplant, and the patients despite several challenges travelled to us," Goyal said.
"In seven of the 11 cases, their mothers were donors. We are happy that they have gone back," he added.