The Gyan Burman Liver Unit (GBLU) was started in 2003 by Mr. Pradip Burman to perpetuate the memory of the late Gyan Burman, who was a scion of the well-known family that owns the Dabur industry. Gyan Burman was the eldest of three brothers. Focused and hard-working, he set a standard that his siblings strived to meet.
He returned from the USA with his pharmacology and science degree (Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science) in 1966, and his uncle, P.C. Burman, immediately began training him to manage production at the Dabur factory in Calcutta. It took him less than a year to take complete charge of the factory. He enjoyed his social and club life in Calcutta, but nothing could prevent him from being at work by 8 a.m. every morning. He died in 2001, and the Gyan Burman Liver Unit (GBLU) was established in his memory at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.
Many years have passed since the GBLU was started under the able guidance and leadership of DrSamiranNundy. GBLU has started an eponymous fellowship in hepatobiliary surgery for young surgeons from various parts of the world and organizes the annual event “Gyan Burman Oration,” to be delivered by one of the world’s foremost liver surgeons. The Gyan Burman Orations have been delivered by Henri Bismuth from Paris, S.T. Fan from Hong Kong, AbhinavHumar from Pittsburgh, Yuman Fong from New York, Sir Roy Calne from Cambridge, Pierre Clavien from Zurich and Dirk Gouma from Amsterdam in the past.
Gyan Burman Liver Unit has played a major role in initiating the liver transplant programme in India. It first convened at a national meeting in 2003, where 50 surgeons from all over the country discussed why India’s liver transplant results at that time were poor and how we should make that better. Since then, 73 liver transplant centers have been established, and approximately 1600 transplants were done in India in 2017 itself. The Ganga Ram Hospital was one of the pioneers in the field, and more than 70% of the procedures were done by surgeons who have worked or have been trained in this unit.
GBLU has trained almost 115 Indian doctors from all over India and international fellows from Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, USA, Greece, Nigeria, West Indies, Myanmar, Fiji, Singapore and Pakistan and has supported the publication of 52 papers and 10 books related to liver disease including ‘Liver Transplantation in India, A Residents’ Manual’ and ‘Liver transplant handbook for patients.’ It has helped surgical trainees attend conferences in this country and abroad, including at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the USA.
The main aims of the unit are:
