Amitabh Bachchan: 75 per cent of my liver is gone. Still surviving on 25 per cent (2024)

New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 20, 2019 13:34 IST

Amitabh Bachchan, who was detected with tuberculosis in 2000, had no idea that he was suffering from it for eight years. At an event in Mumbai, the "tuberculosis survivor" urged people to get regular check-ups so that they could be diagnosed on time.

"I keep quoting my personal example all the time and try and propagate the idea of getting yourself detected. I don't mind saying this publicly. I am a tuberculosis survivor, Hepatitis B survivor... Bad blood infusion went in and 75 per cent of my liver is gone but because I was able to detect it, even after a period of 20 years when 75 per cent of my liver is gone, I am still surviving on 25 per cent," the actor was quoted by IANS as saying.

Bachchan said that only with diagnosis was it possible to find a cure. "There is a cure. Even with tuberculosis. I did not know for almost 8 years I was suffering from tuberculosis. I keep saying with immodesty that if it can happen to me, (it can happen) to anyone. Therefore, if you are not willing to get yourself tested, then you would never find out and there's never going to be a cure for it," he said.

Earlier, in 2015, Bachchan revealed in an awareness video by UNICEF that his liver was damaged because he received blood from a Hepatitis B-infected person. After the actor suffered a serious accident on the sets of Coolie, he required 60 units of blood. One of the units was infected, and his liver was affected.

Bachchan found out about the same only years later, during a routine check-up. By then, three-fourths of his liver was already damaged.

In 2016, Bachchan revealed that he was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the spine in 2000, when he was hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati. "It's very uncomfortable. You cannot sit or lie down. Most of the time, I was on 8-10 pain killers a day just to survive the period when I was anchoring the game show," he was quoted by PTI as saying.

The actor added that after a long treatment, he became free of tuberculosis. "The reason I disclosed is that I felt that the word 'survivor' is somehow is a very powerful word. When I say I am TB survivor, it seems like I survived a plane crash or boat sinking. If you survive that, it lends a lot of power and strength to what you are saying. It's like saying that I have survived it because I went through a process," he said.

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