Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala's first paediatric liver transplantation was done in Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam district.

The surgery was performed on a five-year-old child suffering from liver-related ailments, Health Minister Veena George said here in a statement on Saturday.

"The child's 25-year-old mother donated her liver. It is the first paediatric liver transplantation in the state," she said.

Paediatric liver transplantations are very rare in government hospitals, she said, adding that live surgery is a very complicated procedure.

An expert tream, led by Dr R S Sindhu, head of the surgical gastro department of the hospital, carried out the complicated operation, she said.

George also congratulated the doctor and her team for conducting the rare surgery.

Kottayam Medical College has begun liver transplantation in the government sector for the first time in the southern state in February 2022, the statement added