Q: Is there any alternative to liver transplant? Can the patient lead a normal life after the operation? What is the cost of the operation?

A:Once the liver is in terminal stages of damage (advanced cirrhosis), there is no alternative to liver transplantation. Patients undergoing successful transplant live a normal life, with normal life expectancy for age. The procedure and relevant information about liver transplant in our Department is as follows. At our centre here in Delhi, we do about 6-8 live donor liver transplants per month with 94% success rate for patients and 100% safety record for donors. A 94% success means that 94% of all patients are able to live a normal life, long-term. This makes us the most prolific and successful centre in South Asia. In November 2006, our centre became the first in South Asia to complete 100 liver transplants. The liver donor must be from the patient’s family, aged between 18-55 years, weighing between 50-90kg (but not fat), and have the same blood group or blood group O. We take half the liver from the donor and this is very safe since the liver quickly regenerates, and the donor recovers completely. Once you identify such a person, the following screening tests should be done for the donor: CBC, LFT, Prothrombin time, creatinine, HCV-Ab, HBsAg, HIV-I,II, Ultrasound abdomen, ECG, Chest X ray. The next step is to identify a donor in the family, get the screening tests done and send them to me along with the weight, height and blood group details of the patient and the donor. Once you confirm the availability of a family donor, and your decision to come over for transplant, an appointment can be arranged with us directly call on +91-9811207735 or ring one of the Departmental secretaries on +91-11-42252222 or 42252200 (between 9.30am and 6pm local time) 2 days in advance. The total expense of transplant and all related treatment for the patient and the donor is around Rs. 20 lacs (US$ 45000) and involves a total stay in Delhi of about 3 months (including pre transplant evaluation, transplant and post transplant follow up).