Liver Transplant – Myths and Facts


Liver is the largest internal organ of the body and is the largest gland of the body. It weighs 1000 to 1500 mg and is responsible for carrying out more than 500 functions. Unlike kidney, we do not have a any artificial machine to take care of all liver functions and so when an individual develops liver failure, they are left with liver transplant as their only option.

 Myth 1 – Liver Transplant is only for elite class
Liver transplant is 100 times cheaper in India than any other developed country of the world. The overall cost varies from 12 -25 lakhs for the operation. But the most important fact that people do not know is that there are a lot of social organizations and NGOs that help people financially for liver transplant. What people fail to understand that you end up spending more than the cost of transplant after cirrhosis just for repeated admissions with complications. It is advisable to get transplanted rather than getting admitted multiple times in Intensive care unit. A lot of individuals who present to us have spent more than 30-35 lakhs for treatment before even thinking of liver transplant.

 Myth 2 – Liver Transplant is not successful
The survival rate in India in whichever center of India you take is equal to the rest of the worlds. In fact when we compare the data from majority of our centers, as we do LDLT, the survival is superior. We expect 90% patients to walk home after a transplant and the survival rate of 5 years is 70 percent which is 5 times that of the patient who is in need for liver transplant.

 Myth 3 – You have to travel out of Gujarat to get a liver
We have fully functional transplant set ups in Ahmedabad. The transplant service is offered at Civil Hospital, Sterling Hospitals, Shalby Hospitals as well as Apollo Hospitals. We, at Zydus Hospitals have a complete in house team for Liver Transplant unlike other centres with a combined experience of more than 1000 transplants. You no longer need to travel out of the state to get a liver.

 The best is to protect your liver from developing cirrhosis. Even if you develop cirrhosis, it is not the death sentence nowadays and you can still expect to survive a functional life with good quality after a liver transplant.

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