Rohit Pillai, the country’s youngest patient (31-month-old) to get a liver transplant at Narayana Hrudayalay in Bangalore on October 25, 2005, died of cancer at KEM hospital on Sunday.

He was five years old and a lower KG student of St Joseph’s Boys School, Khadki.

He was the only son of Vijaykumar and Prashanti Pillai, residents of Khadki bazaar.

In 2005, Rohit had a successful liver transplant which the Bangalore hospital performed for Rs 5.15 lakh, after hospitals in Pune and Mumbai asked for Rs 10-15 lakh.

The Pillais had trouble even in arranging the fee for the Bangalore hospital so that their child could cope with “biliary atresia,” a condition where the child is born with the liver but no bile duct. They sold the family’s gold and received around Rs 2 lakh in donations that came after Newsline highlighted the family’s plight.

A month-and-a-half back, Rohit was detected with Burkitts Lymphoma (a type of cancer). He was admitted to KEM hospital, said his uncle Praveen Pillai. “He played a lot and attended school regularly. He actually had cent per cent attendance. He scored A grade.” “Suddenly he complained of stomache pain. Sonography detected cancer. Later, both his kidneys failed,” said Pillai. “Our family, especially Rohit’s parents, struggled a lot to save him. His mother had donated part of her liver to Rohit,” said Praveen.