What is the success rate of liver transplant in India?

Posted by sophiasmith on May 31st, 2017

Liver transplant has come a long way in India. It has matured into a successful medical procedure for liver failure needing a multidisciplinary team of liver transplant doctors in India. Dr. Vivek Vij who has over 17 years of liver transplant experience is one of the best surgeon’s for this. He is currently the founder of ‘Liver transplantation and Hepatobiliary Sciences’ at Fortis group of Hospitals. Other than this he trains young surgeons and paramedical staff in how to perform successful liver transplants. The International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS), in Chicago awarded him in 2015.

For a successful liver transplant there is a need for pediatric hepatologists, intensivists, anesthetists, nurses and other support staff. A liver transplant is suggested in case of acute liver failure, chronic liver failure, and metabolic conditions.

In the last few years India has seen great success in the field of liver transplant. There are various well-established liver transplant programs across the country.

In the pediatric liver transplant section some estimates suggest that India has done hundreds of transplants. Of the toal patients in the system Pediatric patients constitute about 10% of the total liver transplants. A number of these transplants are living related.

Even for complicated cases liver transplant is offered even for complicated cases like metabolic diseases and other types of rare disorders. India has seen a great transformation in terms of the number of donors. This welcome change has been a great thing for patients waiting for a liver transplant. Easy access to generic immunosuppressant drugs and consumables has immensely helped to bring down costs. It is estimated that the average cost of liver transplant in India is upwards of Rs17 lakh.  Dr. Vivek Vij is the first surgeon from Indian subcontinent to publish a series of laparoscopic donor hepatectomy in ‘Liver Transplantation’. He is a much awarded practitioner and he was honored with a special award at International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS), in Chicago in 2015. He has the achieved the great feat of having completed 500 independent transplants and he is the youngest liver transplant surgeon to do so with the lowest biliary complication rate. Along with his team he has a cumulative experience of more than 2500 liver transplants. His success rate stands at a record of 95% with patients and 100% with donors.