8-Year-Old Girl Gets 2nd Chance at Life After Crowdfunding for Expensive Liver Transplantation

After crowdfunding, an eight-year-old girl from Gurdaspur found a second chance at life and helped her undergo costly liver transplantation.

As indicated in a The Tribune report, the girl had been suffering from chronic liver disease since she was four years old and needed an immediate liver transplant.

At a press conference held early this week, the girl's doctor, Dr. Jagtesh Singh Sidhu, said her treatment cost roughly $2 million, but she finally underwent surgery at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, at the cost of $500,000.

According to Dr. Sonal Asthana from Aster CMI Hospital, a liver transplant is well established as a feasible treatment for children who have end-stage liver disease or ESLD.

The Affordable Liver Transplant Initiative

Unlike other organ transplants, the only challenging factor in liver transplants is the high cost involved in the operation.

The doctor explained that the Affordable Liver Transplant Initiative, backed by various charities and crowdfunding, has offered lifesaving transplants to over 120 kids and young adults for less than $500,000 to families.

The liver, which is the body's second-largest organ, is a vital organ in the body that rids the body of toxic substances, a related Zee News report specified.

Chronic liver disease, also called ESLD, is an unusual yet severe condition that takes place when a long-term illness damages the liver and, as an outcome of its functions decline, and it cannot effectively ride the body f toxins or generate bile, which helps in digesting food.

Essentially, this particular condition can be considered life-threatening, which can impact babies, children, and adolescents.

What's Causing Liver Disease in Children?

Causes of chronic liver disease may include metabolic liver diseases such as Wilson's disease, in which the body cannot "cooper from food," which a result builds up in the liver, a King's College London report specified.

Then, there's biliary atresia, a condition taking place when the bile duct is blocked, causing the inability of the bile juice to flow through it.

Another one is liver cirrhosis, a liver disease wherein scar tissues are building up and replacing healthy liver tissue, and as a result, it interferes with the ability of the liver to filter toxins.

The last type of this disease is Hepatitis C, a chronic viral infection of the liver. Nonetheless, it is less typical in children and adolescence.

Treating Liver Disease in Children

Treating chronic liver disease is normally decided on following a conclusive diagnosis of the underlying cause has been made.

If the illness has resulted from a viral infection, then the symptoms of this infection may be treated until the organ recovers.

Meanwhile, with most cases of chronic disease, an analysis of a life-saving liver transplant is needed.

At this point, a pediatric hepatologist normally talks candidly with the patient's parents or guardians regarding this treatment option.

In the case of the eight-year-old girl, she underwent a liver transplant at the innovative Affordable Liver Transplant Initiative of Aster, which

Related information about liver disease in children is shown on Mount Sinai Health System's YouTube video below:

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