PATNA, Sept. 26 -- The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, marked a major milestone on its 14th foundation day on Thursday by taking up its first-ever liver transplant surgery, said newly appointed executive director Brig Dr Raju Agarwal on the sidelines of the function. The surgery was to be taken up at around 9pm on Thursday evening, said Dr Saurabh Varshney, its outgoing executive director. It was expected to continue till the wee hours of Friday. The donor, a woman who had slipped into a coma after a severe road accident last week, was admitted to the trauma and emergency department of AIIMS. Following counselling by senior doctors, her family agreed to donate her liver, kidneys, and cornea. The recipient of the liver is a 43-year-old man, son of a former faculty member of the Patna Medical College Hospital. Officials said the Bihar government had on July 25 granted AIIMS permission to perform liver transplants under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), making it the second facility in the state after Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) to secure such approval. Bihar Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who attended as chief guest, lauded AIIMS Patna for establishing itself as a centre of excellence in academics, medical education, and research. He praised the institute's role in extending advanced healthcare to the poor and weaker sections of society and recalled its critical contribution during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Varshney, in his address at the foundation day function, recalled that AIIMS Patna had carried out its first live kidney transplant on January 20 this year. Since then, three more successful kidney transplants have been performed. The institute also recorded its first cornea donation on May 23. To date, it has completed 344 cochlear implants and 2,506 joint replacement surgeries involving hip, knee, and shoulder procedures, he added....