Liver Transplantation Cost in India

Inclusions in the Package

Liver transplant treatment is a medical procedure where a patient’s damaged or non performing liver is removed and replaced with a healthy liver from a donor. This treatment is typically considered for patients with end-stage liver disease or severe liver dysfunction due to conditions such as: Chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis or hepatitis and acute liver failure.

• Minimum Cost - $26,000
• Maximum Cost - $30,000
• Days in Hospital - 7 days
• Outside Hospital Stay - 45 days

Top Doctors for Gastroenterology

• Dr. Yogesh Batra

• Dr. M. A Mir

• Dr. Avnish Seth

Inclusions in the Package

Liver Transplant Treatment Cost in India

The Liver Transplant Package refers to the cost of pre-transplant assessment, hospital stay, transplantation surgery, follow up care, immunosuppressive therapies and post-transplant rehabilitation care. It comprises initial physical examination and consultation with other health providers, psychological testing, hospitalization, afterward visits, immunosuppressive therapy, and recommendations for further medication administration. It also entails dietary calculations and physical therapy if the case is called for.

Why is getting a liver transplant in India a better option?

India gets a major chunk of medical tourists who are seeking liver transplantation. The discoveries include; availability of professional health care services, cheaper prices, services that cover all ailments, minimal waiting time and well-developed medical tourism services. Most well established and accredited hospitals that provide surgeries match with the international standards and have stringently skilled surgeons. The Indian healthcare system is used to catering to international patients, and therefore is sensitive to cultural differences. The developed medical tourism sector in the country and the possibility to perform transplantation either from a living or a deceased donor facilitate the transplantation process. Also, the country have well-developed medical tourism, and the country’s knowledge of the English language helps international patients to communicate.

Who requires a liver transplant?

A liver transplant is required when a person’s liver is diseased and cannot function properly or when the damages are severe enough. The liver has many vital functions which include detoxification, metabolism of food, production of proteins and blood-clotting factors in the body. 

Conditions that require liver transplant

• Chronic Liver Diseases: Cirrhosis and Hepatitis

• Acute Liver Failure

• Liver Cancer

• Metabolic Disorders

• Biliary Atresia

• Autoimmune Liver Diseases

• Severe Alcoholic Liver Disease

What are the different types of Liver Transplant?

The classification of liver transplantation can be rooted according to the origin of the liver graft and the indication for the transplant.

• Deceased Donor Liver Transplant: The organ transplant referred to as Deceased Donor Liver Transplant or DDLT, is a liver transplantation from a brain-dead donor, whose organs are, however, viable. This procedure is a considerable percentage of liver transplants done globally.
• Living Donor Liver Transplant: Living Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT) is a technique in which a healthy donor gives part of his or her liver to the recipient, and the liver of both the recipient and donor grows back quickly and cuts down the waiting list for patients.
• Split Liver Transplant: Split Liver Transplant is a technique where a liver obtained from a deceased donor is procurable as two separate livers for the treatment of adult and pediatric populations for liver deficiency.
• Orthotopic Liver Transplant: The following is a common type of liver transplantation in which the pathological liver is removed and replaced with a normal donor liver in the same location.
• Heterotopic Liver Transplant: This method means that the donor liver is placed at a different site while the ailing liver remains implanted, mostly it’s used for specific conditions or diseases.

Factors affecting cost of Liver Transplantation

What are the factors on which liver transplant cost depends?

Liver transplant cost in India generally includes the following components

• Consultation Fees: The fee for the first appointment with hepatologists, transplant surgeons and other may cost different amount.
• Patient Condition: intensity of the overall disease and its interconnection with other diseases in terms of its elaboration can significantly influence the price. 
• Geographical Location: The price may depend on the region where the particular hospital is located. 
• Hospital and Infrastructure: quality of the hospital and the infrastructure that have influences the costs. The cost of healthcare also goes high in private hospitals since they use more of the technology and better facilities.
• Type of Liver Transplant: Transplant source is also an important determinant of cost; for instance, deceased donor related transplants cost less than those that come from live donors. 
• Expertise of Medical Professionals: Expert transplant surgeons and hepatologists can be more expensive and the price of their services increases the end cost.
• Medications: Some of the drugs used in managing immunosuppression can be quite expensive especially since these will generally be needed in the patient’s lifetime to prevent organ rejection.
• Diagnostic Tests: Some of the investigations performed during pre-transplant staging may include blood tests, ultrasound or MRI scans, liver function tests, – all of which are costly.
• Surgery and Hospital Stay: The period of hospital stay will cost much arising from the operating fee and the anaesthesia fee will be partly offset by the fees charged for the transplanted organ.
• Post-Transplant Care: There are costs for later clinic visits, checking for complications, and treating effects of chemo that remain years after the therapy. 

FAQs

1. What does a person need to know about the liver transplant wait time?

• The waiting time for liver transplant could be a few days, months or even years. It depends if you have a live donor or not and transplant teams have their own ways of informing patients when an organ is ready. 

2. What sort of medication will I have to take after the transplant has been done?

• And like all transplant patients, the patient will also require immunosuppressive drugs to avoid rejection, antibiotic for infections and drugs for treatment of side effects. The patients will have 7–10 medications when they first go home, but the dosage of these medicines will be significantly reduced by then. 

3. What are some of the dangers of a liver transplant?

• Comorbidities before a transplant include acute liver failure, GI bleeding, encephalopathy, renal failure in cirrhotic, and intestinal bleeding. Post operation effects include bleeding, poor function of the new liver, bile leaks and infections. Patients are always observed for rejection after surgery has been conducted on them. The chronic effects are hypertension and high blood sugar levels, kidney disorders, and cancer, among others. 

4. What takes place during merely an assessment session?

• During an evaluation appointment patients get to speak to a surgeon, a transplant coordinator, a psychiatrist, and a dietitian. The evaluation is created based on the patient’s medical condition.

Cost related to Liver Transplantation in India

What is liver transplant cost in India?

The liver transplant treatment cost in India depends on the type of transplant, reputation and location of the hospital, preoperative assessments, number of days of hospital stay, cost of medications, experience or qualification of the doctor and other complications after the surgery. The average fee of this operation ranges from $30,000 to $50,000, with highly charging hospitals and the cities of that are more metropolitan. 

Top Hospitals for Gastroenterology

• BLK Super Speciality Hospital

• Artemis Hospital

• Fortis Hospital

How much does Liver Transplantation cost in different cities in India?

The liver transplant treatment cost in India differs with the best treatment centres situated in major cities. The cost range in Delhi is $26,000 to $30,000 and has some of the best hospitals with state of art programs. Mumbai has a cost range of $32,000 to $47,000 with some of the top facilities raising the price range. The cost variation of Bangalore ranges from $30,000 to $50,000, and many health related institutions are recognized to deliver decent services. 

How much does Liver Transplantation cost in different countries?

There are notable regional variations in the cost of a liver transplant. An overview of the projected costs for Liver Transplant in various nations is shown below: