Liver transplant is a therapeutic option for people with liver failure and for some individuals with liver cancer who are experiencing significant problems due to chronic liver disease in the end stage. A number of conditions may cause chronic Liver failure. Hepatitis B & C viruses remain the major cause of cirrhosis leading to liver failure and hepatic transplantation, among other causes.
More than 2.5 million people in Pakistan are estimated to require Liver Transplantation at any stage during their treatment. The provision in Pakistan of affordable and reliable Liver Transplantation & Hepatobiliary surgery facilities is a great benefit to the local population, which previously had no choice but to go abroad for the operation.
Currently, Pakistan is among the world’s leading nations that have successfully delivered healthcare to their citizens by Liver Transplantation in compliance with international quality & patient safety requirements.
It is a milestone accomplishment in Pakistan’s medical history that such complicated and specialized surgical treatment was given to Pakistanis at Shifa International Hospital Islamabad, using Pakistani healthcare professionals ‘ skills.
The decision to set up liver transplantation services in the Pakistan was taken on 15 July 2015 to address this emerging medical issue. Living donor liver transplantation is the only treatment option for patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) since deceased donors are not currently available in Pakistan.
In a country of around 200 million people, 5 percent (10 million) are infected with the hepatitis C virus and more than 2 million require liver transplants to save their lives.1,2 Pakistan’s first liver transplant was performed in 2003 as part of an international collaborative effort at the Sind Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi, Germany.
Leave a Reply