But 20 years on, my patient, Surinder, is Asia's longest surviving cadaveric liver transplant to date.

I returned to Singapore and, in 1990, performed Asia's first successful cadaveric liver transplant procedure, but against all odds.

The gap between demand and supply has become even more acute because of resistance to post mortem donation because of local legal, religious and cultural barriers and, thus, the limited supply of cadaveric organs.