I’m Alive Only On 25% Of My Liver: Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan, moving the needle in the battle against Hepatitis

In 2010, Amitabh Bachchan created a stir in the media when he revealed he had liver cirrhosis. Culprit? Not the usual alcohol (Bachchan is a teetotaler) but hepatitis B, a chronic liver disease he has been suffering from for the last two decades. And on Monday, he made the startling revelation that more than 75% of his liver has been destroyed by the disease.

Bachchan senior was addressing the media at the launch of the hepatitis campaign of the Union Health Ministry in association with UNICEF. He recalled how he contracted the disease:

After my accident on the sets of Coolie, I was infused with the blood of about 200 donors. More than 60 bottles of blood were injected into my system. The ‘Australian antigen hepatitis B’ had just been detected and at that time, blood screening for hepatitis was not done. One of my donors was carrying the hepatitis B virus which entered my system. I continued to function normally till the year 2000 and almost 18 years after the accident. In a routine medical check-up, I was told my liver was infected and I lost 75% of it. So I am standing here today, you are looking at a person who is surviving with just 25% of his liver. That is the bad part. The good part is that you can survive with even 12%.

Amitabh Bachchan