The gift of life: Mum donates a part of her liver to save 8-month-old baby girl

Little Prisha celebrated her first birthday last week. Barely four months ago, her parents didn’t know if she would make it to her special day or not.

Prisha had been diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition in infants that could cause their livers to fail. Her parents, a young middle-class couple that lived in the heartland of Bihar, in a small town called Jehanabad, kept running from one clinic to another, only to hear what they dreaded the most: the disease could end Prisha’s life. “My baby’s skin had turned yellow. It was unbearable to see her little body go through so much pain. We had named her Prisha, which means God’s gift. Every night, I slept with the fear that the gift would be taken away,” says Anjali Kumari, 28, her mother.

After gruelling visits to countless doctors, the parents understood that the only way to save Prisha was a liver transplant. Experts suggested that they take the child to Delhi. By the time they could arrange finances and travel to the Capital, Prisha was eight months old and very sick. The disease had reduced her to skin and bones.

Kumari’s husband, Asubi Gunjan, a school teacher, took loans from friends and also launched a crowdfunding campaign with assistance from the hospital to meet the hefty cost of the transplant. “When the doctors told us that our baby required a donor, I didn’t think even for a second and said that I wanted to go through the screening and testing. This was her chance to live, and there was no way we could let it go. My husband had to do a lot of running around, arranging funds and medicine, so he couldn’t have been the donor,” says Kumari.

It was only a week after the transplant surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi, that she could take her child in her arms. “Prisha was in the ICU and had to be protected from infection. The doctors would sometimes make a video call and let me see her. I longed to touch my child. I used to cry a lot. But the hope that she was going to heal and live the life she deserved kept me going,” says the mother, who had recovered from a C-section eight months ago. “I was still weak, and my husband was worried for me, but we had to do this for our girl. I think when you become a mum, your threshold for pain is naturally elevated. It’s God who gives you this amazing strength. Despite a few complications, I healed fast after the surgery and couldn’t wait to play with my daughter once again,” says Kumari, who donated 20% of her liver to her daughter.

Prisha health improved dramatically after the transplant. “Prisha started gaining weight and she is now a chubby, playful child. A liver transplant can be life-saving for children who have biliary atresia. Their bile ducts are not formed since birth which leads to cirrhosis of the liver. Prisha’s mother saved her life with her selfless act,” says Dr Neerav Goyal, liver transplant specialist, Apollo Hospital, who conducted the transplant.

Kumari insists she didn’t do anything exceptional. “I believe that mums are inherently courageous. My baby is healthy, and we are happy celebrating Mother’s Day together,” she says.

“Prisha was our 500th liver transplant patient. Anjali gave life to Prisha twice – once when she gave birth and the second time by donating a part of her liver. For a mom, there couldn’t be a bigger moment,” says Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group medical director, Apollo Hospitals.

Indeed, a mother’s love is unfaltering, even in the most trying circumstances.