New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) A leading healthcare group and a private medical university on Friday joined hands to bring world-class liver transplant programme for patients in central India, officials said.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two sides on World Organ Donation Day that falls on August 13.

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In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Apollo Hospitals group, inked an MoU with "Group of Hospitals - DMIMS, DU, one of the biggest private healthcare medical universities in India to bring their world-class liver transplant program to patients in central India," the hospital group said in a statement.

The two institutions would work to build a successful liver transplant programme that brings the best of medical expertise and the latest world-class technological advances in liver transplant care to the region, it said.

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The partnership would benefit patients with complications due to end-stage chronic liver disease as also in rare cases of sudden failure of a previously healthy liver, the statement said.

Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals said, "This MoU is the first-of-its-kind in the central India and will change the scenario of liver transplant in the region. We will work with the Group of Hospitals - DMIMS, (DU) to bring world-class practices and create a Centre of Excellence in central India for 360-degree care in liver diseases and transplantation."

This will be a boon to patients in need of liver transplant in terms of cost and convenience and they will not have to travel to other cities and states for treatment, Reddy said.

Datta Meghe, Founder and Chairman, Group of Hospitals - DMIMS, (DU) said, "This partnership with Apollo Hospitals will enable us to serve the people of central India with best of care for liver transplants as we together build a knowledge and result oriented liver transplant programme."

The number of patients with liver disease has shown a sharp increase over the last decade. An estimated two lakh patients die of liver failure or liver cancer annually in India, about 10-15 per cent of which can be saved with a timely liver transplant, the Apollo healthcare group said in the statement.

On Friday, over 30,000 liver transplants are needed every year to save the lives of patients with end-stage liver disease, but only about 1,500 are being performed. With the MoU between the two institutions, liver transplants in central India are expected to receive a boost, said Dr Manish Varma, senior liver transplant surgeon with Apollo hospitals.

Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "Starting with India's first successful liver transplant, performed in 1998, Apollo Hospitals pioneered liver transplantation in India and in the region. The Group has performed more than 3,700 liver transplants including 405 in children."

The person, who was the first successful recipient at the age of 20 months in 1998, has now become a doctor, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)