The liver is one of the most vital organs of the human body and the most commonly transplanted organs. It ranks only after kidney in replacement. So, it can be said that liver diseases are common and so needs replacement. Liver Transplant is an operation by which a diseased liver of a patient is replaced partially or totally by a healthy liver. Liver transplant in India has gone through sea changes and has now more sophisticated surgery options. A liver has the ability to recover even after an injury. But if the injury is prolonged and consistent it permanently damages the liver.
Symptoms and Causes of Liver Failure:
There are many factors which can permanently scar your digestive systems. Acute liver failure can happen due to an external injury or an internal liver disease. You can have a mild liver failure due to Hepatitis B & C, cirrhosis of liver or malnutrition. Acute liver failure is caused by an overdose of painkillers, reaction to herbal medications or fungus poisoning. Signs of liver failure include nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and fatigue.
Types of Liver Transplant:
People with severely damaged livers with no chances of recovery are the candidates for a liver transplant. A suitable donor is detected and then the liver transplantation process starts. The donor's liver has to match the receiver's blood group, size, and type with tissue matches. This is a costly surgery and the costs are quite high in Western countries.
Liver Transplant Cost in India is however relatively less due to the easy availability of donors and reduced hospital charges.
There are three types of liver transplants:
Orthotopic Transplant:
This is the most common type of liver transplant options in India. In this process, the whole liver is taken out from a deceased donor. The donor usually pledges their organs before their death. The donor should not have any advanced diseases for transplantation purposes. The surgeon makes an incision to remove the damaged liver and replaces it with the donor's liver. He then stitches it and the patient is transferred for recovery.
Living Donor Transplantation:
This kind of transplantation means the donor is a living person and is willing to transfer their liver to a receiver. This is often the most preferred liver transplant in India which is practices. The surgeon, in this case, removes the entire left or right side to perform the operation. The lobe regenerates after the operation and the liver grows to 85% of its previous size.
Split Liver Transplantation:
This type of surgery is performed on two receivers taking out the liver from a dead person. This is only possible if the receivers are one adult and another one is a child. The adult receives the larger right lobe and the child the left. This method benefits two persons at the same time.
Over the years liver transplant in India has become a lesser expensive operation and liver transplant cost in India have dwindled consistently. Surgery has become much more painless and the success rates have grown phenomenally. There is a large gap between donor and receiver and this gap needs to be bridged to make liver transplantation a much more affordable process.
