Kapil Bhatia heaves a sigh of relief as he watches his 15-year-old daughter complete a graphic collage on her laptop and curl up her lips in a quiet smile. She seems content now. Troubled by a rare liver disease, which had blocked blood-carrying veins from her liver, she had spent the first three years of her life in and out of hospital. Now, she enjoys her walks with him at Pune’s Empress Garden after he donated a part of his liver to her. “She got 95 per cent in her class X exams, wants to pursue medicine and is preparing for the NEET exam,” says the 44-year-old, who reversed his own fatty liver to become a living donor and now helps guide other parents like him.Bhatia is one among many fathers who are volunteering to be liver donors for their children. “Previously, it would mostly be the women in the family who would automatically be expected to be organ donors. Now fathers are also equally keen to be living donors, constituting 40 per cent of children’s saviours,” says Dr Anupam Sibal, paediatric gastroenterologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, who conducted the transplant. The day the doctor told Bhatia that his child needed a liver transplant, he insisted that he be the donor, saying he would be a genetic match and his daughter would not have to wait months.But there was one hitch. On investigation, Bhatia was found to have grade 1 fatty liver that would automatically disqualify him as donor. “Somehow he convinced me that he could reverse the condition. He was overweight and not a regular exerciser. Not only did he take to workouts, he managed to reduce his weight from 97 kg to 80 kg, a 17 kg drop, in a span of three months,” says Dr Sibal. “I stopped eating vada pav, junk and fried food and only had home-made food. I focussed on doing everything I needed to clear the tests needed to be a living donor. I got all my health parameters in range. This was 2013. I still keep fit to look after my daughter,” says Bhatia.A STRUGGLE SINCE BIRTHSix months after she was born, Bhatia’s daughter developed the Budd Chiari syndrome, a condition where the liver veins are blocked by the blood clotting instead of draining out and flowing back to the heart. She would be in pain as the impaired blood flow would build pressure within the liver, causing fluid accumulation. Over time, this resulted in liver damage and liver failure.A transplant was her only option. According to Dr Sibal, survival rates for paediatric liver transplants have significantly improved. That’s why he has compiled their stories in a book and got some of them to Delhi recently as a hope story for those children who need transplants. Studies have shown a one-year patient survival often exceeding 85 per cent, five-year survival around 80 per cent or higher in leading centres and 20 year survival rates around 79 per cent. Survival depends on factors such as the child’s overall health, the complexity of the transplant, the type of graft and the quality of post-transplant care.“The other most common reason for a paediatric liver transplant is biliary atresia, which affects 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20,000 live births worldwide. Inflammation occurs around a child’s bile ducts — which usually allow digestive liquid to drain into the intestines — and blocks them,” says Dr Sibal.THE COST OF SAVING A LIFEIn 2010, after consulting multiple doctors, Bhatia got a stent implanted in his daughter’s liver. However, it could keep the veins widened for a short period and was not of much help a couple of years later. That’s when doctors discussed a liver transplant.Story continues below this adIn January 2013, Bhatia and his wife Malti brought their daughter to Apollo, Delhi. They raised Rs 17 lakh for the procedure after selling their land, car and raising resources through crowdfunding efforts. “I had to quit my sales job as it required a lot of travelling and I wanted to be with my daughter,” he says.ON ROAD TO RECOVERYThe surgery went on for 16.5 hours post which he remained in the ICU for four days. “I was in a bit of pain and was carefully monitored to avoid infection,” says Bhatia. The donor’s remaining liver portion regenerates to its full size over several months, and they typically lead a healthy life with monitoring. Donors require several months for full recovery. Bhatia’s daughter stayed in the hospital ICU for 20 days for closer monitoring and needed a full year to recover.She is now on tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant drug used primarily to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs like the liver, kidney or the heart. She has not been very active in sports but has taken up dance as a hobby. “My father is God’s gift to me… I do not remember the pain as I was a toddler back then. He is my guardian angel,” she says.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Express Premiumfatty liver