Lifesaving surgery at PILBS costs just ₹12 lakh vs ₹45-50 lakh in private hospitals Patient recovering well; renal transplants at Patiala GMC & ₹10 lakh cashless Sehat Bima Yojna by next year: Dr Balbir Singh
Chandigarh/SAS Nagar (Mohali), December 9
In a landmark achievement for public healthcare, the Punjab Government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has successfully conducted the state’s first liver transplant at a government-run institute — the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS), Mohali.
Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh, while presenting the recovering patient to the media on Tuesday, hailed it as a historic milestone. The complex surgery, performed on November 27, 2025, cost the patient only ₹12 lakh — a fraction of the ₹45-50 lakh charged by private hospitals.
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The recipient is recovering well and expected to be discharged in a day or two.
Congratulating the team led by Dr Virendra Singh (Director PILBS & Head of Hepatology) and Dr K Rajasekhar (Head of Liver Transplant & Hepatobiliary Surgery), Dr Balbir Singh thanked PGIMER Chandigarh for providing the organ from a brain-dead donor from Haryana and lauded the donor family for their noble gesture.
Key developments at PILBS:
- New Diagnostic Block operational with Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) machine
- CT scanner supply order placed; MRI tender in process
- Advanced automated biochemistry analyser to be functional within a week
- State-of-the-art blood bank established
- Upcoming 175-bedded patient care block for expanded services
The Minister said PILBS is rapidly evolving into a world-class centre for liver & biliary sciences with round-the-clock emergency, ICU and advanced procedures.
Major announcements by Dr Balbir Singh:
- Government Medical College, Patiala to start renal transplant facility by next year — first in any state-run institute
- All government medical colleges to become organ receiving centres soon
- Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna with ₹10 lakh cashless treatment per family to be launched statewide in January 2026
Appealing for organ donation pledges, he noted Punjab (currently 9th nationally with 20,000 registered donors) aims to soon rank among the top states.
Dr Balbir Singh, accompanied by Principal Secretary Health Kumar Rahul, reiterated the government’s commitment to equipping all medical colleges with advanced secondary & tertiary care facilities, including neuro and cardio labs.
