Liver Transplant Price in India

What is the Liver Transplant Cost in India?

The cost of a liver transplant in India can range anywhere between 22000-45000 USD. This includes recipient and donor pre-transplant evaluation, the surgery itself, and the post-surgery recovery period. Certain factors affect the cost of an organ transplant. liver transplant cost depends on surgeon charges, hospital location and most important compatibility of patient and donor.

How to check the compatibility of the recipient and donor?

The blood group should be the same.

Patient weight should be 50-60kg.

Liver size of donor.

What is liver transplant?

A liver transplant is an operation to remove a diseased or damaged liver and replace it with a healthy one.

It’s usually recommended when the liver has been damaged to the point that it cannot perform its normal functions. This is known as liver failure or end-stage liver disease.

The liver can become gradually damaged as a result of illness, infection or alcohol. This damage causes the liver to become scarred, which is known as cirrhosis. Liver failure can also occur very rapidly as a result of inflammation and death of liver tissue (necrosis).

Who Needs a Liver Transplant?

Liver transplantation surgically replaces a failing or diseased liver with one that is normal and healthy. At this time, transplantation is the only cure for liver insufficiency or liver failure because no device or machine reliably performs all of the functions of the liver. People who require liver transplants typically have one of the following conditions.

Major causes of cirrhosis leading to liver failure and liver transplant include:

• Hepatitis B and C.
• Alcoholic liver disease, which causes damage to the liver due to excessive alcohol consumption.
• Non- alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, causing inflammation or liver cell damage.
  Genetic diseases affecting the liver. They include hemochromatosis, which causes excessive iron buildup in the liver, and Wilson’s disease, which causes excessive copper buildup in the liver.
• Diseases that affect the tubes that carry bile away from the liver (bile ducts). They include primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and biliary atresia. Biliary atresia is the most common reason for liver transplant among children.

Risks of a liver transplant

The long-term outlook for a liver transplant is generally good. More than 9 out of every 10 people are still alive after 1 year, around 8 in every 10 people live at least 5 years, and many people live for up to 20 years or more.

However, a liver transplant is a major operation that carries a risk of some potentially serious complications. These can occur during, soon after, or several years after the procedure.

Some of the main problems associated with liver transplants include:

• your body rejecting the new liver
• bleeding (haemorrhage)
• the new liver not working within the first few hours (primary non-function), requiring a new transplant to be carried out as soon as possible
• an increased risk of picking up infections
• loss of kidney function
• problems with blood flow to and from the liver
• an increased risk of certain types of cancer – particularly skin cancer

There is also a chance that the original condition affecting your old liver will eventually affect your new liver.

Rejection: Our immune system works to destroy foreign substances that invade our body. The immune system, however cannot distinguish between our transplanted liver and unwanted invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. Therefore, our immune system may attempt to attack and destroy our new liver. This is called rejection episode. About 70% of all liver-transplant patients have some degree of organ rejection prior to discharge. Anti-rejection medications are given to ward off the immune attack.

Which Tests Are Required Before Getting a Liver Transplant?

Your Transplant team will need to perform a series of medical tests which may include

• Physical exam with routine laboratory tests (Blood chemistry and blood counts)
• Medical family and social histories
• Blood Typing (A /B/C)
• Viral testing to check for infections such as hepatitis C (H C V), Epstein Barr virus (E B V), or Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Panel of Reactive antibodies (PRA) may also be measured to see if there are specific antibodies in your blood. This helps your doctor understand how your body will react to a transplant
• X – rays or scans of the liver
• 24 hours urine test.
• A Liver Biopsy may also be performed

• Doppler ultrasound: to determine if the blood vessels to and from they liver are open.
• Human leukocyte antigen ( HLA Matching), typing is a method to determine how closely the tissues of one person match the tissues of another person. most likely place to find an HLA match between two people is among siblings who have the same mother and father.

Once we get the all the results of the blood tests and diagnosis. Need clearance from the Cardiologist, Haematology, Gynaecology (for female patients), Psychiatric clearance for donor only and anaesthesia that patient and donor are fit for the transplantation.

Types of Liver Transplant Donor

1.Deceased organ donation transplant – involves transplanting a liver that has been removed from a person who died recently.

2.Living donor transplant Living donor transplant means the donor is a willing living person. The donor has the operation first in which the surgeon removes either the left or right side (lobe) of their liver.

Right lobe transplants are usually recommended for adults while left lobes are used in children. This is because the right lobe is bigger and better suited for adults, while the left lobe is smaller and better suited for children.

The recipient is then opened up and the diseased liver is removed. Then the part of the liver taken from the donor is replaced making the connections with blood vessels and bile ducts as in an orthotopic transplant.

Following transplantation, the transplanted lobe will quickly regenerate itself. Even for the donor the removed portion of the liver grows back. In the recipient the new lobe usually grows to 85% of the original liver size within a week.

3.Split donation transplant – a liver is removed from a person who died recently and is split into two pieces; each piece is transplanted into a different person, where they will grow to a normal size.

4.Auxiliary liver transplantation – Auxiliary liver transplantation is a variety of liver transplantation where the recipient’s own liver is not completely removed. Its purpose is to retain the native liver in case of spontaneous recovery or if there is a potential for future gene therapy in cases of hereditary or metabolic liver diseases (except primary oxalosis, Wilson’s disease or tyrosinaemia in which there is a risk of cancer in the residual liver).

Criteria for Liver Donation for a Donor?

• A Donor must be willing to donate and must be aged between 18-55 years.
• The weight must be 50-85 kg.
• The donor should be a first relative or member of the family.
• The blood group of both donor and recipient must be identical/matching.
• All the body parts of the donor must be functioning properly.
• Satisfactory volume of liver must be available for the recipient while partial liver of the donor is used.
• The appropriateness of the donor for the liver donation would be confirmed by the Liver Transplant Team after revising the above declared characteristics and medical diagnosis.

Documents needed for Liver Transplantation (International)

Donor related other than spouse.

• Photo identify proof (passport, medical visa, if tourist visa then it need to be converted into medical visa etc) of the patient and the donor.
• Birth certificate /school certificate of the patient and the donor.
• 1to 6 passport size photograph of the patient and the donor.
• 3 passport size photographs of the immediate relatives of the donor.
• DNA profiling of the patient and the donor.
• Psychiatry evaluation of donor from Hospital.
• NOC from the embassy in India

Pre-Operative Evaluation Process for Liver Transplantation

As liver transplantation is a large step, so, one must embrace a positive mindset before becoming treated. The test is a step-by-step procedure that starts with the receiver’s evaluation. When the individual is qualified for transplantation, the search for donors at the household starts based on their own blood collection.

If the donor is located, it requires clearance from the consent committee to move farther and the transplantation generally goes in about 2-3 weeks.

Measure 1: Pre-transplant Recipient Evaluation

• After the individual is diagnosed with coronary artery disease disorder and needing the transplant, the transplant group performs a set of evaluation tests like blood tests, CT scans along with other tests to look at the operation of their lungs, heart and other organs.
• The test generally takes 7-10 days that’s an inpatient procedure.

Measure 2: To Pick The Donor

• Selecting the donor has become the most crucial portion of the full procedure. The donor must fulfill these standards:
• A relative related by blood according to the Act.
• When the contributor is non-related by the bloodstream, then it requires approval by the government-appointed authorization committee together with clarifying that there’s not any industrial angle involved.
• Age set between 18-55 years without any obese difficulties.
• The donor’s liver dimensions ought to be sufficient enough to give the needed sum of the portion.
  Compatible blood collection together with the receiver
• Additionally, it has HLA testing and fitting to be performed prior to the consent committee meeting.

Together with the above-mentioned procedure, the individual and the family needs to manage the remedy emotionally, mentally, and financially. Thus, they need to be powerful enough to cope with this type of circumstance. Reach out to our experts for the best & affordable liver transplant cost in India.

Liver Transplant Procedure

• Liver transplant surgery is done using general anesthesia, so you’ll be in a sleep-like state during the procedure.
• The transplant surgeon makes a long incision across your stomach to access your liver. The location and size of your incision varies according to your surgeon’s approach and your own anatomy.
• The surgeon removes your liver and places the donor liver in your body. Then the surgeon connects your blood vessels and bile ducts to the donor liver. Surgery can take up to 12 hours, depending on your situation.
• Once your new liver is in place, the surgeon uses stitches and staples to close the surgical incision. You’re then taken to the intensive care unit to begin recovery.

Living-donor liver transplant

• If you’re receiving a liver transplant from a living donor, your surgery will be scheduled in advance.
• Surgeons first operate on the donor, removing the portion of the liver for transplant. Then surgeons remove your liver and place the donated liver portion in your body. They then connect your blood vessels and bile ducts to the new liver.
• The transplanted liver portion in your body and the portion left behind in the donor’s body regenerate rapidly, reaching normal volume within several weeks.

After the procedure

After a liver transplant

After your liver transplant, you can expect to:

• Possibly stay in the intensive care unit for a few days.Doctors and nurses will monitor your condition to watch for signs of complications. They’ll also test your liver function frequently for signs that your new liver is working.
• Spend 5 to 10 days in the hospital.Once you’re stable, you’re taken to a transplant recovery area to continue recuperating.
• Have frequent checkups as you continue recovering at home.Your transplant team designs a checkup schedule for you. You may undergo blood tests a few times each week at first and then less often over time.
• Take medications for the rest of your life.You’ll take a number of medications after your liver transplant. You’ll need to continue taking many of them for the rest of your life. Drugs called immunosuppressants help keep your immune system from attacking your new liver. Other drugs help reduce the risk of other complications after your transplant.

Expect six months or more of recovery time before you’ll feel fully healed after your liver transplant surgery. You may be able to resume normal activities or go back to work a few months after surgery. How long it takes you to recover may depend on how ill you were before your liver transplant.

Frequently Asked Questions for Liver Transplant?

1. What is the success rate of liver transplant in India?
   A. The success rate of Liver transplant in India has been 90%. But like any other transplant, liver transplant has its very own risks and complication.

1. How long can a person live with a liver transplant In India?
   A. In general, about 75% of people who undergo liver transplant live for at least five years. That means that for every 100 people who receive a liver transplant for any reason, about 70 will live for five years and 30 will die within five years

1. Who can donate for liver transplant in India?
   A. The living liver donor should be a 18-55 years old, willing and healthy family person weighing between 50-85 kg, should not be overweight or obese (since such people tend to have fatty livers that may not work well in the recipient), and should have either the same blood group as the patient’s or blood group “O”

1. Why should you go for Liver Transplantation in India?
   A. In the past few years, the liver transplant technology and technique have progressed in India and is not a usual procedure accessible across the country. The survival rate is at par with the best across the globe. India has some of the top hospitals for a liver transplant with the best current technology and state-of-the-art infrastructure. India is a very viable option for undertaking the treatment primarily because of the highly reasonable cost for the procedure. India has many experienced doctors and surgeons who have established their top-notch credibility.

Q. What can I expect my quality of life to be after liver transplantation?

The first three months following transplantation are the most difficult. The body is adjusting to the “new” liver and all the medications needed to maintain its health. By the time of discharge from the hospital patients are able to care for themselves, with some minor restrictions. The transplant team carefully prepares each patient for discharge. Most patients can return to work within 3 to 6 months after a transplant. Playing sports and getting healthy exercise, socializing, and traveling for business and pleasure are all possible. The Center’s expectation is that people who undergo liver transplantation can and do go on to lead “normal” lives.

Q. Will my liver disease come back after a transplant?

Certain liver diseases can reappear in the new liver. One example is hepatitis C. The transplant team can advise you on the incidence of recurrence of specific liver ailments. In cases where there is a risk of recurrence the transplant team will monitor you very closely to help prevent recurrence.

Q. How much pain is typical after the surgery?

There is pain after liver transplant surgery, however it is generally not as severe as with other abdominal surgeries. This is because nerves are severed during the initial abdominal incision causing numbness of the skin around the abdomen. These nerves regenerate over the following six months and sensation returns. More common post-transplant discomfort is back pain associated with the length of time on the operating table. The team prescribes the appropriate pain medicine for each patient.

Q. How large is the scar?

The standard incision used for the liver transplant is called a “chevron incision.” It starts at the right side of the midsection just under the ribs and extends to the left edge of the abdomen. There is also a short incision starting under the sternum (breastbone) which extends to meet the horizontal incision.

Q. How long is the recuperation period?

Most patients are hospitalized for 7 to 10 days after liver transplant. Afterwards, they generally recuperate at home and typically return to work or school after about 3 months.

Q. Will I need to take medications after my liver transplant?

Patients must take many medications after a liver transplant: some to prevent rejection (immunosuppressants), some to fight infection, and others to treat the side effects of the immunosuppressants. Patients returning home after transplantation will be taking approximately 7 to 10 different type of medicines. As the patient heals and recovers health with the help of their new liver, dosages and number of medications are reduced over time. By six months, it is common to be down to 1 or 2 medications. However, patients will be taking immunosuppression medications for the rest of their lives in virtually all cases. It is vital that these medications are taken as prescribed, in the proper amounts and at the specified times. Missing medication doses or discontinuing them on one’s own can lead to rejection and organ failure.

Q. What side effects can be expected from the medications prescribed after transplant?

Many medications have side effects. Side effects typical with post-transplant medications include: elevated blood pressure, changes in mood, hair loss or hair growth, elevated blood sugar, bone and muscle weakness, kidney dysfunction, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache. Most patients will experience side effects initially, but these often diminish over time as dosages are reduced.

Although side effects can be troublesome, medications should never be discontinued without the knowledge and agreement of the transplant team. When side effects are severe, the array of medicines can often be adjusted to improve their tolerance.

Q. Can I return to work after my transplant?

Yes, patients are encouraged to return to work after transplantation. It customarily takes around 3 months before returning to work is feasible. Certain patients will require light-duty assignments temporarily as they reacclimate to the workplace. Unless there are complications, disability is usually not granted for more than six months after a liver transplant, because the disabling disease has been treated. From the start of the transplant process, patients should consider their long-term employment goals so that they can rejoin the workforce in a timely manner and avoid lapse in health insurance coverage.

Q. Can I drink alcoholic beverages after my transplant?

No. Not only is alcohol toxic to the liver, it can also interfere with the metabolization of certain medications. Be aware that many “non-alcoholic” beers do contain some alcohol.

Q, Can I have sex after my liver transplant?

Yes. Sexual activity can resume early after discharge from the hospital. Because of illness, many patients experience impotence or lack of desire prior to the transplant. This usually reverses itself after transplant, but a patient’s libido tends to return slowly. Immunosuppressed individuals are at greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, therefore protective barriers such as condoms should be used (unless in a long-term monogamous relationship).

Because of their chronic illness, many people are unable to conceive prior to transplant, but this may not be the case afterwards. Birth-control methods should be discussed with your transplant team and implemented when sexual activity resumes.

Q. Will I be able to have children after my transplant?

Many couples are able to have children after liver transplantation with minimal risk to the mother and baby. Women are advised to wait at least one year following transplantation before trying to conceive. It is important to discuss such plans with the transplant team. They will need to carefully evaluate the health and medication regimen of women seeking to become pregnant. Often, changes in medications are recommended. Women becoming pregnant will need to be closely followed by their obstetrician and the transplant team. It is common to require monthly lab testing for pregnant transplant recipients. Babies born to immunosuppressed mothers tend to have lower birth weights than average, but are generally healthy. Planning the pregnancy and receiving close follow-up care throughout are key.

Transplant recipients often want to thank the donor’s family for the liver they received. This can only be done anonymously through the organ procurement agency. To communicate with the donor’s family, write a letter without signing it and give it to the team’s social worker at the transplant center. They send it to the organ procurement agency who in turn forwards it to the donor’s family. Often the donor’s family will respond via another anonymous letter. However, not everyone receives a response, but this does not mean your gratitude wasn’t appreciated by the donor’s family.