Veteran Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday sought to reassure fans about his health after revealing he was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and needed regular medical check-ups. Bachchan, a 67-year-old teetotaller, said 25 percent of his liver had been destroyed by the condition, which he said was the long-term result of a blood transfusion after an accident when filming nearly three decades ago. "I am alarmed that you are alarmed at my condition, medically," he wrote on his blog. "It has been something that has remained with me for years and years and years." Bachchan said he was aware that any disclosure about his health sparked widespread concern among his fans, but said he was determined to be open and did not "feel the need to keep it covered and protected." The actor revealed on Friday that after a worrying blood test he had undergone an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan that showed his liver had not deteriorated further. "Now since the liver and any ailment associated with it is extremely sensitive, I have to be under constant vigil and monitoring," he wrote on his blog. Bachchan, a celebrity who is treated like royalty in movie-mad India, said cirrhosis was only one small part of his health issues. "Some of them are at an extreme stage of repair and I may have to go under the knife sooner rather than later," he wrote. "The Big B", as he is known, nearly died following the accident on the set of the 1982 film "Coolie". He ruptured his spleen during a fight scene and was critically ill for months. Fans held vigils outside his hospital and made offerings at temples as they prayed for his recovery. He said his cirrhosis, a condition which is often caused by drinking excessive alcohol, was due to blood donated at the time of the accident by friends, relatives and well-wishers. "Two-hundred of them gave blood. And 60 bottles of it was required and collected and injected into me," he wrote, adding that about eight years ago it was discovered that "some of the blood from an unknown donor was infected." Bachchan, who continues to act in several films every year, is the father of successful Bollywood star Abhishek who is married to former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.
