A lethargic lifestyle is the major cause of liver problems said health practitioners.
Today, fatigue and packed food have become a daily routine of many people, due to which on the occasion of World liver day, health officials encourage a healthy lifestyle among people.
Statistics show that around 2 lakh people die in India every year due to liver problems out of which around 50,000-60,000require a liver transplant. Every year around 25,000 liver transplants are being performed globally whereas currently in India, more than 1800 liver transplants are being performed annually in 90 to100 active liver transplant centers.
Fatty liver is quite common in India and its symptoms include fatigue or abdominal pain which is quite common for other health issues as well. Due to this people tend to ignore the aspect that something must be wrong with their liver, Dr. Sunil Shenvi, Surgeon said.
In India, there is a higher number of kidney transplants that happens annually and so do kidney donations. However, liver donations and transplants are still comparatively low. The major reason is that a human body consists of two kidneys out of which only one can be donated. The other reason is if a person has kidney problem then they can be put on dialysis. But if they have a severe liver problem then they would need a transplant or they would succumb to the disease.
Statistics from Jeevasarthakathe, Health and family department of Government of Karnataka revealed that in 2022, the state has only received 25 liver donations whereas the number of kidney donations is at 38.
Lijamol Joseph, Chief transplant coordinator of the state said, “The state is working towards spreading awareness about organ donations as the donor list is more than the donations which we receive.”
The recent number of registered patients for a liver transplant is 1084 whereas the donations are too less to meet the demand, she added.
A person needs to have a healthy lifestyle to prevent such diseases. Especially during the pandemic, the majority of the population had become inactive. Even though the success rate of liver transplant is 80 to90 percent but if the person isn’t maintaining a healthy lifestyle, then even a successful transplant fails, Dr.Ravindra, a transplant surgeon said.
