The widow of a US-based philanthropist who gave $7.5 million to a hospital in Sonarpur, on the southern fringes of the city, visited the healthcare unit three years after her husband’s death to attend the inauguration of a research centre the donation helped build.

The John C Martin Centre for Liver Research and Innovations, named after the late philanthropist, will focus on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its precursor stage as well as drug-induced liver damage.

“Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the term for a range of conditions caused by a build-up of fat in the liver. It’s usually seen in people who are overweight or obese,” says the website of the NHS, UK.

Lilian Lou, a scientist and the widow of John C Martin, was at the Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences in Sonarpur for the inauguration of the centre on Wednesday.

“John would be so pleased. I feel his spirit is among us, not only today but always. We have seen the opening of this hospital and its expansion. There is a nursing training centre already and now there is this research centre,” Lilian said at the inauguration.

“John and I met Abhijit (Chowdhury) 13 years ago when he told us about his and his colleagues’ aspirations to set up a hospital that will treat only liver diseases,” she said.

Abhijit Chowdhury, a former professor of hepatology at SSKM Hospital, is a member of the liver hospital’s governing board.

Martin visited the city in 2018 when the foundation stone of the liver research centre was laid.

He was also in town in 2016 for the hospital’s inauguration, around 3kms from Sonarpur station.

The $7.5 million donation is besides another $3 million that Martin, a former executive chairman of US-based biotechnology company Gilead Sciences, gave to set up the hospital.

“No businessman in India was willing to fund us when I met John at a conference in Barcelona. His willingness to fund us was the turning point as it pitchforked us as a credible organisation. More funds followed in the subsequent days,” Chowdhury said on Wednesday.

The Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences is a 100-bed hospital built completely on philanthropic donations, said Chowdhury.

A part of the $7.5 million donation will reach the facility during the next six years, while a portion has already been released to set up the initial infrastructure.

“We have set milestones like hiring faculty. A portion of the funding will be released after every milestone is achieved,” Lou said.