John C. Martin, who died on Tuesday, was first big donor for liver hospital.
Former Gilead Sciences boss John C. Martin, who passed away on Tuesday, had a $8 million connection with Calcutta, where his money helped set up a liver hospital that caters to underprivileged people.
He had donated $3 million to set up the Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences at Sonarpur, on the southern fringes of the city.
He had also pledged another $5 million to build a research centre at the institute.
Abhijit Chowdhury, the secretary of Liver Foundation, which has built the Sonarpur hospital where people are treated at a subsidised rate, narrated to Metro on Wednesday how Martin had helped them build the facility.
“John C. Martin was the first big donor for the project. It was after his donation that other donors came forward to help the $5 million project,” said Chowdhury, also the head of the Institute of Liver Diseases at SSKM Hospital.
Kolkata