What is Liver Transplantation?
A liver transplant is a complex surgical procedure that replaces a liver that no longer functions properly (liver failure) with a healthy liver from a deceased donor or a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor.
Based on the data provided for liver transplants from 2021 to 2026, the facility has performed a total of 18 procedures. The program maintainted a consistent start with 2 transplants recorded in both 2021 and 2022. There was a notable increase in activity over the following years, with the volume doubling to 4 transplants in 2023 and reaching a peak of 5 transplants in 2024. In 2025, the figure remained strong with 4 procedures performed. As of the current period in 2026, 1 transplanthas bee n recorded, contributing to the overall growth and steady performance of the liver transplant program over the last six years.
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Types of Liver Transplantation
There are two main types of liver transplantation — living donor liver transplantation and deceased donor liver transplantation.
Living donor liver transplantation is a procedure where a healthy family member or suitable donor donates a portion of their liver to the patient.
Living donor liver transplantation can reduce waiting time, allow planned surgery, and support faster treatment when the patient’s condition requires timely care.
Deceased donor liver transplantation is done using a healthy liver from a person who has passed away due to irreversible brain injury, after proper medical and legal approval.
Who Requires Liver Transplant?
A liver transplant may be considered when the liver is severely damaged and can no longer perform its normal functions.
Conditions such as advanced liver disease, liver failure, cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, certain liver cancers, biliary disorders, and inherited liver conditions may lead to the need for a transplant.
No. Liver failure can happen gradually due to long-term liver disease or suddenly due to infection, medication-related injury, or other serious medical conditions.
Eligibility Criteria for Liver Transplant
A team of specialists reviews the patient’s medical history, liver condition, overall fitness, and test results before deciding whether liver transplant is suitable.
Priority is usually based on the severity of liver disease. Scores such as MELD for adults and PELD for children help doctors assess the urgency of transplant.
Blood tests, liver function tests, imaging, heart and lung evaluation, infection screening, and other fitness assessments may be done before transplant.
Liver transplant surgery usually takes around 6 to 12 hours, depending on the patient’s condition and the complexity of the procedure.
After surgery, the patient is monitored closely in the ICU and then shifted to regular care based on recovery. Medicines, follow-up, diet, and lifestyle guidance are important after transplant.
The Kauvery Advantage
Our transplant team is one of the most experienced in performing and managing liver transplants, having trained extensively in the best centres across the world. It is one of the few centres in the country where deceased donor, living donor liver transplantation and comprehensive treatment for gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases are all offered under one roof.
- Dedicated state of the art LICU(Liver ICU) setup for critical and postoperative care
- A specialised team comprising transplant surgeons, hepatobiliary surgeons, intensivists, surgical gastroenterologists.
Liver Transplant Specialists in Chennai, India
Understanding Paediatric Liver Transplant
Liver transplantation is very successful in treating children with end-stage liver disease and enables a long healthy life. Organ scarcity is the main limitation to the full exploitation of transplantation, and it is being overcome thanks to innovative surgical techniques. Children of all ages, even the youngest, today have the chance of being transplanted, with almost no waiting list mortality. Split-liver and living-donor transplantation have contributed to reversing a situation in which, during the 1980s and 90s, children had higher waiting list mortality compared to that of adult patients.
Several years ago, the main focus of care of children with end-stage liver disease was to find a liver transplant, but today, the main interest is in long-term follow-up, with prevention of immunosuppression-related complications and promotion of as normal growth as possible. The history of pediatric liver transplantation has clearly shown that success is dependent on strict and integrated collaboration between referring pediatricians, pediatric transplant hepatologists, transplant surgeons, nurses, transplant coordinators, psychologists and social workers.
Liver Transplant FAQs: An Essential Guide
The transplant operation usually takes 8-10 hours. Firstly, the affected liver is removed by dividing the blood supply. The new liver graft is then replaced and new connections are made between the blood vessels and the new liver graft. The bile duct of the liver is also joined with the patient’s bile duct. The wound is then closed after placement of one or two drains, to drain excess fluid that usually forms after surgery.
Rejection: Up to 30% of all transplant patients develop signs of rejection in the first year after transplantation. Rejection is completely treatable in over 90% of cases with these measures. Occasionally, stronger medications may be required to treat persistent rejection.
Infection: Susceptibility to infections is higher due to the anti-rejection medications. The early post-liver-transplant period poses high-risk and gradually decreases after the first 6 months. We advise patients to maintain good hygiene, avoid uncooked food, and refrain from coming in close contact with persons with active infection.
Tumours: Transplanted patients have a slightly increased risk of tumours. This is related to the intensity of immune-suppression used in them. Skin tumours are the most common type of tumours occurring in the transplant population and are also completely curable if identified and treated early enough
The average duration of stay in the hospital is about 2-3 weeks. By the time the patient is discharged, they will able to eat normally, walk comfortably and will need minimal analgesic medication. During the stay, the patient will be guided to take the necessary medications.
