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Overview
Liver Transplant |
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Liver transplant is a procedure to replace a sick, diseased liver with healthy liver taken from another healthy person, called donor. Liver transplant is the second most commonly transplanted organ in the world, after kidney.
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Liver transplant is recommended when the liver is damaged to an extent that it cannot perform its normal functions. Human body cannot survive without a liver and thus when liver stops its functioning, technically called liver failure, one needs a liver transplant.
Liver is the largest and one of the most important organs of the body.
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- Liver is a powerhouse that produces (A) glucose, a basic sugar and energy source; (B) proteins, the building blocks for growth; (C) blood-clotting factors, substances that aid in healing wounds; and (D) bile, a fluid stored in the gallbladder and necessary for the absorption of fats and vitamins.
- As the largest solid organ in the body, the liver is ideal for storing important substances like vitamins and minerals. It also acts as a filter, removing impurities from the blood. Finally, the liver metabolizes and detoxifies substances ingested by the body.
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| There are two types of liver transplant: |
- Deceased liver donation
- Living donor liver transplant
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| Deceased organ donation |
| A deceased organ donation involves transplanting a liver that has been removed from a person who recently died. |
| Living donor liver transplant |
| During a living donor organ transplant, a section of liver is removed from a living donor and is used for transplant. Because the liver can regenerate itself, both the transplanted section and the remaining section of the donor’s liver are able to re grow into a normal-sized liver. |
Liver Transplant in India |
The Organ transplant laws in India are very strict, prohibiting any commercial transaction for liver transplant. Organ transplant law in India allows only blood relatives to donate liver to the patient. A special permission from the Govt. of India is to be taken if an unrelated person wants to donate a liver to the patient. There should be absolutely no commercial transaction involved between a donor and recipient for a liver transplant in India. If the proposed donor or the recipient or both are foreigners and are seeking liver transplant operation in India, a senior Embassy official of the country of origin or the government of the country concerned (authenticated by the Embassy concerned in India) has to certify the relationship between the donor and the recipient.
There is a long waiting time for liver from dead or cadavers, so foreigners usually never get cadaveric donations if they wish to undergo cadaveric liver transplant in India.
A few blood tests are done on the donor and recipient before the liver transplant to make sure that the new liver is accepted by the body and liver transplant is successful.
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| Procedure- Liver Transplant Surgery |
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Both patient and the donor shall undergo a series of tests before the liver transplant surgery is done. This to make sure that the donor is in good health and can survive the surgery. The patient is checked thoroughly to make sure that he is a suitable candidate for the liver transplant operation. This includes blood testing to check compatibility. Various other tests and investigations include EKG, Echo, Chest X-ray, Abdominal CT scan, CT Cholangiogram, physical assessment by a physician, hepatologist and psychological tests.
The surgery is a major surgery and takes about 12 hours. For a living donor surgery, the donor is operated first and will have an operation to remove either the left or right lobe of the liver. Right lobes are usually taken for adults and left for children, as left lobe is smaller and better suited for children.
After the donor’s surgery, the patient’s diseased liver is removed and replaced with the healthy liver from the donor, the blood vessels and bile ducts are then connected to the liver lobe. After the surgery, the transplanted lobe quickly regenerates itself- about 85% of the original liver size within a week.
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| Candidates for Liver Transplant |
| A person needs a liver transplant if the doctor feels that the liver is failing, i.e, the liver cannot perform its normal functions anymore. Many diseases can cause liver failure. Cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) is the most common reason for liver transplants. Other common reasons for liver transplants are: |
- Chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C
- Bile duct diseases
- Genetic diseases
- Autoimmune liver diseases
- Primary liver cancer
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Fatty liver disease
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| A patient is a good candidate for liver transplant, if he has a liver failure, but his heart, lungs, kidneys, and immune system are strong enough for surgery, mentally and emotionally stable, family and friends who can take care of the patient before and after the surgery and of course, a cadaveric or a living donor is available. |
| Expected Results from Liver Transplant |
The results of liver transplant are quite gratifying. Most of the patients return to regular lifestyle after six months of a successful liver transplant. With healthy diet, regular exercise and medication, liver transplant patients lead a healthy and active life. |
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| Recovery after Liver Transplant |
After the liver transplant surgery, you would be moved to the ICU where you would stay for about 5-6 days. You would then be shifted to the room and would stay there for about 3 weeks.
It is normal to feel pain and discomfort after the surgery, which shall be controlled with medications. The doctor will check for bleeding, infections, and liver rejection. During this time, you would be taught to take care of yourself after going back home and about the medicines needed to take to protect your new liver.
Your doctor would prescribe you medicines to suppress your immune system, so that your body does not reject the new kidney. These or similar medicines would have to be taken for a long time. Since your immune system would be suppressed, your doctor would also prescribe you antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral medicines to protect you against infections.
Recovering from a liver transplant can be a long, slow process. Aim is to gradually build up your health and fitness. It may take three to six months before you are ready to return to work and resume normal activities. But, after a successful liver transplant, most people can go back to their normal daily activities, and many return to work.
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| Time & Cost |
You'll spend around a week in intensive care immediately after surgery and another three weeks in the transplant care after which you would be released from the hospital. The donor will stay at the hospital for about a week.
You would need to be in India – about 2 weeks before the surgery for pre operative requirements and 6-8 weeks after discharge from the hospital. Thus a total of about 10-12 weeks are required for liver transplant in India. This is to ensure that you have recovered well and your new liver has begun to function properly before you go back to your country.
The average cost for liver transplant in India is around $50,000 and varies between $40,000 to $60,000 depending on the facility, city and category of services that you choose.
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| IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT INDICURE DOES NOT ARRANGE DONORS. THE DONOR FOR LIVER TRANSPLANT HAS TO BE A CLOSE RELATIVE OF THE PATIENT (SIBLING/ PARENTS/ CHILDREN/SPOUSE). IN CASE THE DONOR IS NOT A CLOSE RELATIVE, GOVERNMENT PERMISSION IS REQUIRED AND IS GIVEN ONLY IF IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT THERE IS NO COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION INVOLVED BETWEEN THE DONOR AND THE RECIPIENT. |
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| Steps for Liver Transplant surgery in India |
1. Identify donor from your country- preferably a close relative
2. Investigate donor- patient compatibility in your country. If it is not available, get it done in a country closest to you else, you may have to come to India for investigations.
3. When the compatibility is confirmed, both the patient and the donor shall be investigated for operability.
4. Livers transplant in India will happen after the above confirmations and completion of documents related to liver transplant operation in India.
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| IndiCure Cares |
Liver transplant is a serious proposition. It requires immense amount of deliberation, conversations, and forethought. At IndiCure, we understand the importance of the surgery conducted, and therefore, we treat our guests with utmost care and professionalism.
We are extremely sensitive towards your requirements and the liver transplant procedure is conducted by acknowledged and experienced liver transplant surgeons, considered being the best surgeons for liver transplant in India. We encourage you to educate yourself about the procedures before any confirmations.
For further information, we request you to submit Enquiry Form with details of your requirements and medical reports wherever applicable. IndiCure assures you that all arrangements for examinations, surgeries, and post-operative recuperation will be ably taken care of.
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