The management of Guinness World Records has requested medical records from the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI&RC) after a 120-member team submitted a claim for performing liver transplants on 10 patients, including a nine-month-old baby, in 23 hours and 20 minutes.
The institute received a response from Guinness after submitting the case online along with visual evidence, while an official said that a team is expected to visit PKLI&RC in connection with the claim.
“We have achieved a landmark breakthrough in transplantation medicine, demonstrating a novel clinical approach that expands organ utilisation and advances the treatment of rare metabolic diseases,” PKLI&RC Dean Prof. Faisal Saud Dar told a press briefing on Wednesday.
Prof. Dar said that the team performed seven Domino Liver Transplants and eight Auxiliary Partial Orthotopic Liver Transplants (APOLT) during the 23-hour window.
A domino liver transplant is a sequential procedure where one patient’s liver is removed and transplanted into a second recipient, while APOLT involves implanting a partial donor liver alongside a portion of the patient’s own liver.
“This innovative transplant strategy enabled nine children and one adult to receive life-saving liver transplants from only three donors, demonstrating how advanced surgical expertise can substantially expand the impact of scarce donor organs,” Prof. Dar added. He confirmed all patients have been discharged and reunited with their families.
Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, who attended the briefing, congratulated the PKLI&RC team. Board of Governors Chairman Prof. Saeed Akhtar said that the institute has performed 1,175 liver transplants, 1,276 kidney transplants and 19 bone marrow transplants since its inception.
