A liver transplant is a surgical procedure performed to replace a diseased liver with a healthy liver. The liver may come from a cadaveric donor (brain dead person) or from a living donor. Family members or individuals who are unrelated but make a good match may be able to donate a portion of their liver. This type of transplant is called a living transplant.
An entire liver may be transplanted, or just a section. Liver is the only organ in the body able to regenerate, a transplanted portion of a liver can rebuild to normal capacity within weeks.
A liver transplant may be recommended for people who are suffering from end-stage liver disease (ESLD), a serious, life-threatening liver dysfunction. ESLD may result from various conditions of the liver.
The most common liver disease is liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a slowly progressing disease in which healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue, eventually preventing the liver from functioning properly.
Other diseases that may progress to ESLD are:
For Liver Transplant Surgery there are two types of donors:
Living Donor – A living donor is a living and active person. In living donor liver transplantation, a piece of liver is removed from a living donor and transplanted into a recipient.
Cadaveric Donor – A Cadaveric Donor is a brain dead person. A donor who has recently died and has not had liver injury. This type of donor is called a cadaver donor.
Important Note: In India there is long waiting list for Cadaveric Donors since cadaveric organs are not frequently available and the wait for such donors may extend to several months. For Overseas patients, only living donor liver transplants are recommended, which requires them to bring a healthy, willing donor (a close relative or family member only) with them when they come for a transplant. Cadaveric transplants are not practical for overseas patients. Moreover the success rate for Living Donor Liver Transplantation is more than the Cadaveric Donor Liver Transplantation.
Potential donors must meet certain basic requirements:
The suitability of the donor for the donation would be determined by the Liver Transplant Team.
You get a free and complete step by step guidance on Medical travel for your Liver Transplant Surgery in India.
Q. What about the waiting period?
A. For a Living Donor Transplant there is now waiting period at all. IndiaCarez Assistance ensures a zero waiting period to all its customers. IndiaCarez Assistance books all the appointments, hospital room etc. in advance for its customers.
Q. How many days the patient and the donor need to stay in India?
The patient has to stay in India for a total of about 3 months including pre-transplant evaluation and preparation, the actual transplant and stabilization in the immediate post transplant follow up period. After transplant, the patient will have to be in hospital for a month and after the discharge from the hospital, the patient has to stay in India for another 5-7 weeks for follow up.
The donor (close relative or family member only) is discharged from hospital after 8-10 days and allowed to go out his/her home country after another 12-15 days of stay in India. After going back to the home country he/she can lead a very normal life as it was before the liver donation.
Q. What about the stay in India after the discharge from the hospital?
A.IndiaCarez Assistance has tie-ups with several hotels, guest houses, service apartments etc located nearby hospitals and we will help you in finding and booking suitable place for the patient and the donor. Usually the room charges may vary from 50-120 US Dollars per night depending upon the type of room and the hotel you choose.
Q. What about travel?
A. You must have a Passport and will have to apply for Indian Visa at the Indian Embassy in your home country before you can fly to India for the surgery. IndiaCarez Assistance will arrange a formal letter from the Hospital/Surgeon which will enable you to get Indian Visa on priority within 7 days of application.
Q. Do I need to pay for the services of IndiaCarez?
A. We do not charge any fees or collect any money upfront from our customers. The customer makes the payment directly to the hospital after the admission. Various modes are available for making payment to the hospital- cash, bank wire transfer, credit or debit cards, travellers cheque etc.
“My brother was suffering severe hepatititis. I showed it to local doctors in my home country and they were of the opinion that my brother might need a liver transplant surgery. But there are no good hospital or facility for liver transplant surgery in my home country. Then I started to search for hospital outside my country for the treatment.
I searched on the internet and I found IndiaCarez website. I filled up the form on the website. I got a call from the case manager and she told me to send the medical reports of my brother. I sent the reports by mail and the case manager got back to me with the opinion doctor and the treatment package. She was very kind and explained me in detail about the package and traveling to India for liver transplant.The quote was afffordable to me and I was staisfied with the profile of the treating doctor. The case manageer helped me with the passport, visa and the air tickets which saved a lot of my time.
I and my brother were seen by a team of doctors the next day and a series of tests were carried out.The surgery was planned and it went on sucessfully. We stayed in India for few more days for follow up.Overall it was a great experience. My brother is doing well and I am extremely grateful to the doctors. I thank evryone who helped me and my brother at every step.”
Mr. K. Mpenda, Kenya, Liver Transplant Surgery
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