MUMBAI: Liver transplants are no longer so rare in India that they should make news, but there was a special aspect to the transplant operations that the Sardesais underwent in Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai, recently. The bill for the two operations — removing a portion of 38-year-old mother Bhavna Sardesai’s liver and transplanting it into seven-year-old Mayuresh — was around Rs 12 lakh, almost half of the price in most other hospitals in and around Mumbai.

“This was on the lower side because it was essentially a paediatric liver transplant, but the cost of adult transplants could climb to Rs 16 to Rs 19 lakh,“ said Apollo Mumbai chief Dr Narendra Trivedi.In a city where the average cost of liver transplant hovers between Rs 25 and 30 lakh, these figures seem to be a bright spot.Barely 28km from Apollo is Maharashtra’s best teaching school at KEM Hospital, Parel. A liver transplant here never costs more than Rs 6 lakh. “We only do cadaveric liver transplant (in which the donor is unrelated and brain-dead). The last transplant cost around Rs 3.5 lakh, but costs go up due to complications,“ said KEM Hospital dean Dr Avinash Supe…..Readmore