ISLAMABAD: Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a resident of Peshawar, had been suffering from Hepatitis C for the last many years.

Last year he was told by doctors that the only way to save his life was a liver transplant. The operation took place on November 22, 2013 in the capital and today Shah is living a healthy life.

On Saturday Mr Shah participated in an event organised to celebrate ‘100 Living Donor Liver Transplants’ at Shifa International Hospital (SIH).

Mr Shah told Dawn that before the operation, he would feel weak and his body would always ache.

He found it almost impossible to perform his duties as an electrical supervisor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police.

“In the last stage of my disease, I would vomit blood. That’s when doctors suggested the transplant. I found it impossible to afford the operation which required 6.5 million. Fortunately Secretary Welfare KP Hashim Khan and Inspector General of Police KP Nasir Khan Durrani arranged funds for my operation,” he said.

He narrated how his brother and children were all willing to donate liver but as hepatitis ran in the family, doctors rejected. “Finally my wife’s nephew offered me his liver, which was approved by doctors,” he said.

“I came to Islamabad and after the operation had to stay in hospital for 28 days. Later I hired a house in Islamabad because continued checkups were required.

I stayed here for three months and now I am living a normal life,” he said.

Mr Shah was not the only person at the event who went through the process. Most recipients shared similar stories.

Hepatitis is one of the biggest heath problems facing the country’s population. Every 10th Pakistani is suffering from hepatitis.

There are 18 million Pakistanis suffering from hepatitis and around 150,000 deaths per year are attributed to the disease.

Dr Najamul Hassan of SIH said the first transplant of the country was performed in Islamabad on April 30, 2012, when Mohammad Yasin a 12-year-old boy received donation from his cousin Humaira Sadaf.

“Over 100 transplants have been performed successively. Transplant patients have included people of all ages, from an infant of 7 months to 72 year old patient,” he said. He however said that liver disease was an endemic in Pakistan and millions of young Pakistanis are suffering from it.

“We need institutions in every big city of Pakistan for liver transplant. Moreover trained doctors, nurses, technicians, as well as laboratory, radiology and diagnostics technology is needed,” he said.

Many patients still go to India, China and other countries for liver transplant so initiatives are required at government level to improve facilities so that more lives can be saved.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2014