Two complex paediatric liver transplants conducted by doctors at Fortis Hospital here helped save lives of infants hailing from Fiji and Iraq, who were suffering from congenital liver defects.

Azariah Malala and Lilaz Bakhtiyar were both suffering from forms of Biliary atresia -- a condition in which the bile duct is not formed (or partially formed and blocked) at the foetal stage -- causing a threat to their health and vitality at the time of birth."Pediatric patients account for about 12.5 percent of liver transplant recipients. Biliary atresia is a reason for transplant in pediatric age group in 50 percent of patients," Vivek Vij, Director (Liver Transplant) at Fortis Healthcare, said in a statement on Thursday.In Malala, a six-month-old boy from Fiji, the condition resulted in an enlarged liver and bile duct, stretching and blocking the main portal vein that supplies 75 percent blood to the liver.The doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute successfully conducted an eight-hour-long liver transplant surgery, where the father donated 25 percent of his liver to his son. 

In the second case, 21-month-old Bakhtiyar, who hailed from Iraq, underwent surgery at Fortis Escorts.Bakhtiyar, who has O blood group, underwent an ABO incompatible transplant -- donor and recipient of different blood groups -- in which her mother, having A blood group, donated the liver. With ABO transplant, one receives medical treatment both before and after the transplant to lower antibody levels in the blood and reduce the risk of antibodies rejecting the new organ.Both children are doing well after transplant, the doctor said.