- In addition, the hospital successfully carried out two more Paediatric liver transplants on infants under the age of 7 months, both suffering from severe liver disorders
- The procedure was performed by a multidisciplinary team of Rainbow Paediatric Liver Institute which included liver transplant surgeons, hepatologists, and paediatric intensive care unit physicians
Chennai, 24th September 2025 – Rainbow Children’s Hospital, India’s leading Paediatric multi-specialty and perinatal care hospital chain, has achieved a landmark in the nation’s medical history by performing India’s first live Paediatric liver transplant for Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis Type 13 (PFIC 13). The procedure was carried out on an eight-year-old boy from Thoothukkudi at the hospital’s state-of-the-art Center of Excellence for Paediatric Liver Transplant. Alongside this national first, the team successfully completed two additional rare Paediatric liver transplants on infants under one year of age, reinforcing Rainbow’s position as a pioneer in advanced Paediatric liver care in India.
The milestone surgeries were made possible by Rainbow’s experienced team of pediatric liver specialists and its advanced transplant facilities. Under the leadership of Dr. Mettu Srinivas Reddy, Lead Transplant Surgeon, and Dr. Somashekar, Senior Consultant Pediatric Hepatologist, the team included Dr. Prasanna Gopal, Transplant Surgeon, Dr. Karthik Narayanan and Dr. Nataraj Palaniappan, Senior Consultants in Paediatric Intensive Care, and Dr. Keerthivasan, Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology. The team was further supported by Dr. Sathish Chander, who led the anaesthesiology department, along with skilled nursing staff and dedicated transplant coordinators. This multidisciplinary collaboration ensured the expertise and meticulous care required for these complex paediatric liver transplants.
Marking a moment that also went down in history as the India’s first pediatric live liver donor transplant for PFIC 13, Eight-year-old from Thoothukudi was battling Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis Type 13 (PFIC 13), an extremely rare inherited liver disorder, with only less than 8 cases reported in the literature making it one of the least common forms of pediatric cholestasis. With the timely and selfless partial organ donation from his mother, he is well and back to school.
Seven-month-old, from Pondicherry who developed severe liver disease in her infancy, was saved after her father lost 9 kilos in just one month to qualify as a living donor, before bravely undergoing an 11-hour transplant surgery. Five-month-old Baby from West Bengal born with Biliary Atresia was given a second chance at life when his mother partially donated her organ as a donor and was saved after a 14-hour transplant surgery.
Commenting on the success, Dr. Somashekara, Senior Consultant Pediatric Hepatologist, said “Pediatric Liver transplant is one of the most critical yet challenging areas in medicine. With our expertise and advanced infrastructure at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, we have today successfully treated and cured three rare Liver disorders. To see the children have a second chance at life with the support of their parents is truly heartwarming and fulfilling personally. These surgeries reaffirm Rainbow’s commitment to delivering world-class pediatric liver care with compassion, precision, and expertise.”
The Center of Excellence For Pediatric Liver Transplant at Rainbow Children’s Hospital is equipped with dedicated pediatric Liver ICUs, modular operation theatres, advanced imaging and diagnostic systems, infection-controlled transplant wards, and 24/7 multi-specialty support teams. The program integrates global best practices in pediatric liver transplantation with advanced technologies such as high-end anesthesia systems, precision surgical tools, and child-friendly infrastructure, ensuring safety, precision, and compassionate care for young patients.
About Rainbow Children’s Hospital:
Rainbow network comprises 221 hospitals and 5 clinics across 9 cities, with a total bed capacity of 2,2851 beds. Our Pediatric services under “Rainbow Children’s Hospital” include newborn and pediatric intensive care, pediatric multi-specialty services, pediatric quaternary care (including organ transplantation); whereas our women care services under “Birthright by Rainbow” offers perinatal care services which includes normal and complex obstetric care, multi-disciplinary fetal care, perinatal genetic and fertility care along with gynecology services.
Rainbow Children’s hospital built on strong fundamentals of multidisciplinary approach with a full-time consultant led clinical service along with 24/7 commitment in a child centric environment. The company follows a hub-and-spoke operating model where the hub hospital provides comprehensive outpatient, inpatient care, with a focus on tertiary and quaternary services and the spokes provide primary, secondary and emergency care in pediatrics and obstetrics, large outpatient services and comprehensive obstetrics, pediatric and level 3 NICU services. This model is successfully operational at Hyderabad and is gaining traction in Bengaluru. The endeavor is to replicate this approach in Chennai and across the National Capital Region. Subsequently Rainbow intends to expand into tier-2 cities of Southern India.
Rainbow embraces a unique doctor engagement model, where doctors work exclusively on a full-time, retainer basis. The doctors work in teams and have 24/7 commitment, which is particularly important for children’s emergency, neonatal, pediatric intensive care services and to support pediatric retrieval services. The Company also operates the country’s largest pediatric DNB training program in private healthcare, offering post graduate residential DNB and fellowship program.
Photo Caption (from L to R) – Dr. Prasanna Gopal – Transplant Surgeon, Dr Keerthivasan – Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Dr Somasekhar – Senior Consultant Pediatric Hepatologist, Dr Karthik Narayanan and Dr Nataraj Palaniappan, Senior Consultants in Pediatric Intensive Care and Dr. Sathish Chander, who led the anaesthesiology team of Rainbow Children’s Hospital.
