Guwahati: Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has performed the first reported liver transplant in a govt hospital in the northeast.The procedure lasted 16 hours and was conducted by a team of specialist doctors, state health minister Ashok Singhal said.“The first-ever liver transplant at GMCH was completed on Friday night. Both the liver donor and the recipient are currently in the ICU. The principal of the medical college has confirmed that the operation was successful,” Singhal told the media here on Saturday.“This is the first liver transplant in a govt healthcare sector hospital in the northeast. As far as I know, only about 10 state-run medical college hospitals in the country perform liver transplant surgeries,” he added.Singhal said the state govt hoped to strengthen and expand the facility.The transplant was performed on a 48-year-old patient from Beharbari in Kamrup Metropolitan district. He received a portion of his liver from his 40-year-old sister.“My congratulations to the entire team. Both donor and recipient are recovering in the ICU under close care,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on ‘X’.Sarma said the donor’s courage gave the patient a new life.He said the state govt launched its Liver Transplantation programme in 2025 with the decision that “complex, life-saving care must be available in Assam, in our public hospitals, for every citizen. Today that decision is delivering results.”“This is only the beginning. We are building a statewide cancer care network, have brought bone marrow transplants to GMCH, and will soon set up India’s first proton beam therapy unit in the public sector here in Guwahati,” Sarma said.He said the govt aimed to make Assam the healthcare hub of eastern India.
