Two important facts about Liver Transplant in India

A few days back I got a call from a Tunisian Lady telling me that my husband is suffering from liver cirrhosis and needed an urgent transplant. But my blood group is not matching and other family members are not eager to donate their organs. I can’t see my husband die day by day. Her pain and grief were visible in her voice. I exchanged my sympathy and asked her to convince her family member that it is a very safe surgery in India and except for a scar there is nothing to worry about. In India, we are doing dozen of liver transplants on daily basis in different hospitals and with great success rates. There is no life-threatening situation for the donors. We talked to each other for almost 15 minutes and the last thing she asked me was “Can we buy liver in India?” I smiled by heart despite worried for her husband and replied emphatically “NO”.

Let me describe two very important things you must have to know regarding liver transplants in India.

1. Living donor for a liver transplant must be a nearby relative characterized as a ‘close relative’ in the THO Act. This is characterized as the life partner, guardians, kin, grandparents, and children of the patients. The rule is donor should be either from a lineage of the father side or mother side.
2. The following criteria that the donor has to fulfill for liver transplant surgery:

• He/she needs to be willing to donate.
• His/her age should be between 18 and 55 years.
• The weight has to be between 50 to 85kg.
• He/she has to be a family member only.
• Should have the matching blood group of the recipient.
• The liver and other body organs should function well.
• A sufficient volume of the liver should be available for the recipient when half of the liver of the donor is used.

The suitability of the donor will be determined by the Liver Transplant Team. A number of tests will be performed before the surgery. It is important that you know more about the procedure before you think of undergoing it. Your doctor will tell you when a liver transplant is needed. The patient has to stay in India for 3 months for the entire procedure to be done.