Call It a Clan or Call It a Tribe….

Call it a Clan. Call it a Network. Call it a Tribe. Call it a Family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. -Jane Howard

Our family has expanded. It is a matter of great pleasure that the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology (JCEH) is now the official journal of the Liver Transplant Society of India (LTSI). Our original affiliation with the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) as their official journal continues. The two societies are like the branches on a tree. They may grow in different directions, yet their roots remain as one. JCEH is happy to be a part of that root, and we proudly display the logos of both societies on our reimagined cover. As a result of the combined endeavours of these two National societies for liver disease in India, we can look forward to renewed avenues of research, innovations, creation of liver disease, and transplant registries and improve collaborative networking, research, and proposals in the fast-expanding field.

The JCEH has completed a decade of publication. With a rapidly expanding readership, revitalised Editorial Board, and enhanced visibility in global hepatology and transplantation communities, we hope to fulfil every academic need of the growing tribe of practising hepatologist as well as those who are training to be one. Without doubt, patients undergoing liver transplantation and their management form an extremely important part of hepatologist's workday. When I looked back and analysed the JCEH publications over the last decade, I noted some interesting facts. We have published 55 issues till 2020, including 12 supplement issues and 43 regular issues. Figure 1A gives an overview of the articles published in JCEH till date. Till now, we have published 785 articles, the majority of which are original articles (461,59%), reviews (193, 25%) among others. During this period, the transplant centres grew exponentially as did the contribution of liver transplant community to this journal. We have come a long way during this decade in establishing a liver transplant registry and correcting several concerns expressed by the author about a decade back,¹ and some more recently.² Till now, we have published 172 articles related to liver transplantation in the JCEH, including 97 (56.4%) original articles, 24 (14% reviews), 39 (22.7%) case reports, and 2 (1.2%) consensus statements (Figure 1B). Approximately 103 (59.8%) articles were related to transplant surgery and outcomes (60 original articles and 15 reviews), 11 (6.3%) to cirrhosis and complications, 8 (4.6%) were related to hepatocellular carcinoma, 12 (6.9%) to liver pathology, 3 (1.7%) on animal models, and 3 (1.7%) to alcohol-associated issues in transplantation. In addition, there were many case reports, centre-specific data on transplant audits, and outcomes of transplantation in emergency conditions, such as acute liver failure, autoimmune hepatitis, etc. Based on the topics listed, we have comprehensively covered various aspects of liver transplantation including the conundrum to living donor vs cadaveric transplantation, surgery in acute-on-chronic liver failure, paediatric transplant, and techniques such as split liver grafts etc.

Figure 1.

Pattern of publication in JCEH so far. A: Total articles published during first decade (n=785) and B: Papers pertaining to liver transplantation published during same period (n=172).

In a way, the journal was already fulfilling the academic needs of transplant community, albeit partially. The association of JCEH with LTSI is likely to increase the scope of our involvement. We are fully aware that the advent of new transplant techniques, multiple new facilities, multiple organ transplants, and new concepts in immunosuppression are likely to take our technical input to the next level. LTSI is known for its academic activities and holds several conferences to showcase its original research and revolutionising innovations. The large cohort of post-liver transplantation individuals has also generated new avenues of concern and research questions, such as graft survival, long-term metabolic outcomes, quality of life, and recurrence of disease.

As such 2021 onwards, we, at Team JCEH, look forward to new achievements as being the official journal of the two apex societies INASL and LTSI. With the joining of the LTSI in our fold, we hope to have additional focus on the transplant programme in India, which is now emerging as a global hub for high-quality and innovative medical and surgical care.

The Governing Council of INASL, President Dr. PN Rao (Director – Hepatology, AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad), President-Elect Dr. S.P Singh, Department of Gastroenterology (S.C.B. Medical College, Cuttack, Orissa), Past President Dr. Rakesh Aggarwal (Director of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry), Secretary General Dr. Kaushal Madan (Principal Director & Head – Clinical Hepatology, Max Hospital, Saket, New Delhi), other Governing Council members including Treasurer Dr. Pankaj Puri (Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Fortis Escorts Liver and Digestive Diseases Institute, Okhla, New Delhi), and about thousand odd members welcome the coming together of the LTSI team and the INASL team, which expands possibilities and avenues for research in India. On behalf of the Editorial Board of the JCEH, I heartily welcome on board the President of LTSI, Prof. S Sudhindran (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala), Vice President Dr. Ravi Mohanka (Chief Surgeon and Head of Department, Liver Transplant and Hepato-Biliary Surgery, Global Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra), Secretary Dr. Neeraj Saraf (Director – Clinical Hepatology, Medical Director – Liver Transplantation, Medanta – The Medicity, Gurugram, Haryana), Joint Secretary, Dr. Joy VargheseDirector (Department of Hepatology & Transplant Hepatology, Gleneagles Global Health City Chennai, Tamil Nadu), other members of Executive Council including the Treasurer Dr. (Prof) Naimish N. Mehta (Co-Chairman & Chief Transplant Surgeon, Dept. of Surgical Gastroenterology, HPB Surgery &Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi), and 500 odd members of LTSI to the JCEH family. As a welcome gesture to our LTSI friends, we have also created a virtual supplement of recent articles related to liver transplantation in India, published in the JCEH over the last year.³ This is done with a view to stimulate new ideas, fresh meta-analyses, innovative research, and development strategies appropriate for resource-poor population for improving solid organ transplantation services in India, so that the level of research input in the fields of hepatology, gastroenterology, gastrointestinal surgery and transplantation, and publication of cutting-edge research in the JCEH reaches a higher plane.

I look forward to the continuing support of our Editorial Board and devoted readers for the continued success of JCEH.