A liver transplant is a surgical procedure that removes a diseased liver that no longer functions properly (liver failure) and replaces all or part of a healthy one from another person, who's called a donor.

The liver is the largest internal organ and performs various critical functions, including:

• Processing medications, nutrients, and hormones
• Producing bile, which supports the body absorb fats, cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins
• Making proteins that prevent the blood clot
• Removing toxins and bacteria from the blood
• Preventing infection
• Regulating immune responses

Why Do You Need a Liver Transplant in India?

Liver transplant in Mumbai is typically reserved as a treatment option if your liver doesn't work the way it should. This is called liver failure. If a person is suffering from significant complications due to end-stage chronic liver disease, then a liver transplant is required.

People with liver failure whose condition can't be controlled and some people with liver cancer require liver transplant treatment option.

Liver failure may occur quickly or over a long period of time. Acute liver failure occurs quickly, in a matter of weeks, is called acute liver failure. It is usually an uncommon condition that is the result of various complications from certain medications.

But typically, a liver transplant is needed to treat chronic liver failure. Chronic liver failure happens slowly over months and years. Chronic liver failure may occur due to a variety of conditions. But the most common cause of chronic liver failure is the liver (cirrhosis), which leads to the liver not to function properly.

If you suffer from liver disease, visit the best hospital for a liver transplant in Mumbai. Consult the best hepatologists for diagnosing and treatment.

Significant causes of cirrhosis resulting in liver failure and liver transplant include:

• Hepatitis B and C.
• Alcoholic liver disease.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• Genetic diseases affecting the liver, such as hemochromatosis
• Biliary atresia
• Biliary cirrhosis
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis
• Liver Cancer

How do you prepare for a liver transplant?

Before the procedure

You will be on the waiting list

After assessing the severity of your illness, doctors will use the results of your liver function tests and other factors to determine on how urgently you require a transplant and what will be your place on the liver transplant waiting list.

Waiting for a new liver

You may have to wait for a liver transplant in India. Some people generally wait for days, while for others it may take months or some may never receive a donor. While you are waiting for a new liver, your doctor will treat the complications of your liver failure so that you are as comfortable as possible.

There are many complications of end-stage liver failure, which could be serious too, and thus, you may be frequently hospitalized.

Living liver donors

In living donor liver transplant in Mumbai, doctors use a small portion of a liver from a healthy person. This has become an option for adults who have end-stage liver disease.

Living-donor liver transplants provide an alternative to waiting for a deceased-donor liver. The organ recipient can avoid possible health complications of waiting for a transplant. Usually, most living donors are close family members or friends of the liver transplant candidate. Living-donor transplants provide good results, just as a liver transplant from deceased donors.

Discuss living donor transplant in India with your doctor.

Domino liver transplant

This is an uncommon type of liver transplant where you receive a liver from a living donor who has a disease called familial amyloidosis. In this disease, the donor's living organs will get damaged, and thus he/she may need a liver transplant. The donor's liver can be transplanted to you because it is still functioning well. You might develop signs of amyloidosis, but these symptoms usually take decades to develop.

What constitutes a liver transplant team?

A liver transplant in Mumbai will have a team of:

• A liver specialist (called a hepatologist)
• A transplant surgeon
• A transplant coordinator
• A psychiatrist
• An anesthesiologist
• A chemical dependency specialist
• A financial counsellor

During the procedure

Liver transplants in India generally take 6 to 12 hours. Your surgeons will perform surgery to take out your liver and replace it with the donor's liver. The surgeons will put several tubes in your body because it is a major procedure. To help your body do certain things during the operation and for a few days afterwards, the tubes are a necessity.

The average hospital stay after a liver transplant in Mumbai is 2 to 3 weeks. Some patients go home sooner, but others have to stay longer, depending on their medical conditions.

After a Liver Transplant

After you leave the hospital, you may have to come back to the hospital in about 1 to 2 weeks. After that, you will have follow-ups 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the liver transplant and then once a year for the rest of your life.

Your best doctor will advise you on what kind of lifestyle you have to follow and what other medications you may have to take.

Liver transplant survival rates

For a successful liver transplant in India, your long-term survival depends on your particular situation. In general, about 75% of people who undergo liver transplant will live for at least five years. Survival rates among liver transplant recipients also vary among various liver transplant centres.