The liver is one of the most essential organs in the body, carrying out numerous functions necessary for maintaining good health and proper functioning. It has regenerative capabilities. The liver is responsible for filtering the blood and removing toxins, storing vitamins and minerals, metabolising drugs, and producing bile among other important functions. Contracting a serious liver disease such as end-stage liver cirrhosis, a viral infection that affects the liver, or liver cancer can adversely impact the functions of the liver, potentially causing it to cease functioning optimally. In such conditions, liver transplantation may be the only possible treatment to improve a patient's odds of survival. 

Liver Transplant, alternatively called hepatic transplant, is the surgical procedure involved in the removal of a diseased liver and its replacement with a healthy one. The liver obtained for transplant may be cadaveric or from a living donor. A liver transplantation surgery is not only necessary for the treatment of liver damage due to an underlying severe liver condition but also a life-saving procedure that improves the prognosis and quality of life of a patient.  

When is a Liver Transplant Necessary? 

A Liver Transplantation surgery may be recommended by hepatologists in case of severe liver failure when it loses its regenerative capacity to repair or heal the damaged tissues. Liver failure may stem from tumours, tissue scarring, or chronic liver infections and diseases, and it may happen suddenly, in a matter of weeks, (acute) or over a long period, months or years (chronic). Major causes of liver failure that may necessitate a liver transplantation include: 

• Hepatitis B and hepatitis C 
• Primary Biliary Cirrhosis 
• Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis 
• Hepatocellular carcinoma 
• Damage caused by drug overdose 
• Liver cirrhosis 
• Alcohol-related liver disease 
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, leading to inflammation or damage of the liver cells) 
• Genetic diseases affecting the liver, such as hemochromatosis (an excessive iron buildup in the liver), and Wilson's disease (an excessive copper buildup in the liver) 
• Diseases affecting the bile ducts, such as primary biliary cirrhosis, biliary atresia, etc. 

Liver Transplant Procedures & Hepatobiliary Services at Gleneagles Hospitals 

The highly skilled team of Hepatology surgeons and interdisciplinary specialists at Gleneagles Hospitals performs various types of Liver Transplantation surgeries including complex ABO incompatible transplants.  

The choice of surgery depends on the transplantation requirement of the individual patient, the overall health condition of the patient, the expected patient outlook, and the availability of a complete or partial liver. They employ state-of-the-art, high-end equipment to obtain enhanced precision, along with successful outcomes of liver transplant surgery.  

 Types of Liver Transplant   

Deceased Donor (Braindead, Cadaveric) Transplant: 

• Brain-dead patients on ventilators may donate Organs if their family consents. 
• Patients must enrol through the hospital to be listed for a Transplant and are alerted when a potential Donor becomes available.  

Living Donor Liver Transplant: 

• Living Donors can donate part of their Liver. Receiving a portion of a liver from a living donor is an alternative to waiting for a deceased donor's liver to become available. 
• Living-donor liver transplant is possible because the human liver regenerates and returns to its normal size shortly after surgical removal of part of the organ.