Liver Transplant in Iran
What Are the Legal Conditions for Tourists (NON-IRANIANS) To Have a Liver Transplant in Iran?
In Iran, foreigners can only perform a liver transplant with a living donor.
After sending the patient’s documents online to the transplant team in Iran and their approval to perform a liver transplant, the patient and the donor must go to the Iranian embassy in their country with valid passports to examine and confirm their relationship with each other.
The donor and the patient must also submit a written mutual commitment to the embassy stating that there is no financial transaction between them for liver transplant surgery in Iran.
Before the trip, the commitment form and scanned photos of their passports will be emailed to Iran, and after determining the time of surgery, the patient and the donor can travel to Iran.
If you are receiving a liver transplant from a living donor, your surgery will be scheduled in advance.
Surgeons first operate on the donor, removing the portion of the liver for transplant. Then, surgeons remove your diseased liver and place the donated liver portion in your body. They then connect your blood vessels and bile ducts to the new liver.
The transplanted liver portion in your body and the portion left behind in the donor’s body regenerates rapidly, reaching normal volume within several weeks.
Why Iran Medical Tours?
A liver transplant is a complicated surgery that needs cooperation between professional people as a team. Finding a reputable well-equipped hospital with first-rate surgeons, making arrangements from another country, obtaining a visa, and finding good accommodation and other facilities such as airport transfer and transportation from hotel to hospital and vice versa, at reasonable prices, are different components of the liver transplant chain that our professional staff at Iran Medical Tours will assist you with from A to Z and even after that which is follow-ups.
How to Choose a Medical Center for Liver Transplant in Iran?
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The survival rates of liver transplants performed by the center;
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The number and type of transplants done by the center every year;
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The additional post-op care services provided by the center; and
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The cost of the procedure
What is a Liver Transplant?
The liver plays a vital role in humans’ lives, mainly in enzymes and protein synthesis, and toxins and drug metabolism, and living without it is impossible. A liver transplant is a surgical procedure, under general anesthesia, that removes a liver that no longer functions properly (liver failure) and replaces it with a healthy liver from a deceased donor or a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor.
The surgery can take from 4 to 12 hours.
Living Liver Donors
Living-donor liver transplants using a small portion of a liver from a healthy living person account for a small percentage of liver transplants each year. Living-donor liver transplants were initially used for children needing a liver transplant because suitable deceased-donor organs are scarce. Now, it is also an option for adults who have end-stage liver disease.
Living-donor liver transplants offer an alternative to waiting for a deceased donor’s liver and allow the organ recipient to avoid possible health complications of waiting long for a transplant. The first step is to identify a living donor who is healthy and can undergo a major surgical procedure. The donor’s age, blood type, and organ size are critical considerations in determining whether you and the donor are a match for a living donor liver transplant.
Based on Iran’s rules, all foreign living liver donors must be close family members of the liver transplant candidate.
Living donor transplants have good results, just as transplants use livers from deceased donors. However, finding a living donor may be difficult. Living liver donors must go through extensive evaluations to ensure they are a match with the organ recipient and to assess their physical and mental health. The surgery also carries significant risks for the donor.
Liver Transplant Cost in Iran
The price of Liver Transplant in Iran can vary according to each individual’s case and will be determined based on an in-person assessment with the doctor. The average is 35,000 – 40,000 USD based on hospitals.
We do the operation in the best liver transplant hospital in Iran, Abu-Ali Sina Hospital in Shiraz: the world’s 1st liver, and kidney transplant center by Dr. Seyed Ali Malek Hosseini‘s team.
Contact us for the best price!
How to Prepare for a Liver Transplant in Iran
Choosing a transplant center
If your doctor recommends a liver transplant, you may be referred to a transplant center. When you are considering transplant centers, you may want to:
. Learn about the number and type of transplants the center performs each year.
. Ask about the transplant center’s liver transplant survival rates.
. Compare transplant center statistics through the database maintained by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
. Understand the costs incurred before, during, and after your transplant. Costs will include tests, organ procurement, surgery, hospital stays, and transportation to and from the center for the procedure and follow-up appointments.
. Consider additional services the transplant center provides, such as coordinating support groups, assisting with travel arrangements, helping with local housing for your recovery period, and offering referrals to other resources.
. Assess the center’s commitment to keeping up with the latest transplant technologies and techniques, which indicates that the program is growing.
After you have selected a transplant center, you will need an evaluation, and your medical history will be checked to determine whether you meet the center’s eligibility requirements. Each transplant center has its own eligibility criteria.
Specific tests, procedures, and consultations you may undergo include:
. Laboratory tests, such as blood and urine tests to assess the health of your organs, including your liver
. Imaging tests, such as an abdominal ultrasound, chest X-rays, and scans
. Heart tests, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) to determine the health of your cardiovascular system
. A general health exam, including routine cancer screening tests to evaluate your overall health and to check for any other illnesses that may impact the success of your transplant
. Other tests, such as breathing tests (like spirometry), an endoscopy, ERCP, lung function test, a complete physical examination, tissue matching, and angiography
The donor must have a liver anatomy that is suitable for donation. Moreover, the donor’s and recipient’s blood type must also be compatible. For example, a person with type O blood can donate to anyone, while type AB can donate only to those with the same blood type regardless of the Rh factor.
Your evaluation may also include:
. Nutrition counseling with dietitians who assess your diet and make recommendations on how to plan healthy meals before and after your transplant
. Psychological evaluation to assess and treat any underlying issues, such as depression or anxiety, and determine whether you fully understand the risks of a liver transplant
. Meetings with social workers who assess your support network to determine whether you have friends or family to help care for you after transplant
. Addiction counseling to help people who are struggling with how to quit alcohol, drugs, or tobacco
. Financial counseling to help you understand the cost of a transplant and post-transplant care and to determine what costs are covered by your insurance
Once these tests and consultations are complete, the transplant center’s selection committee meets to discuss your situation. The committee determines whether a liver transplant is the best treatment for you and whether you are healthy enough to undergo a transplant.
If the answer to both questions is yes, then you are placed on a liver transplant operation.
Whether you are waiting for a donated liver or your transplant surgery is already scheduled, try to stay healthy. Being healthy and as active as you are can make it more likely you will be ready for the transplant surgery when the time comes. It may also help speed your recovery from surgery. Work to:
. Take your medications as prescribed
. Follow your diet and exercise guidelines
. Keep all appointments with your healthcare team
. Stay involved in healthy activities, including relaxing and spending time with family and friends.
Stay in touch with your transplant team, and let them know of any significant changes in your health. If you are waiting for a donated liver, make sure the transplant team knows how to reach you at all times. Keep your packed hospital bag handy, and make arrangements for transportation to the transplant center in advance.
During the procedure
.Living-donor liver transplant
If you are receiving a liver transplant from a living donor, your surgery will be scheduled in advance.
Surgeons first make an incision like an upside-down Y shape from one side of the rib cage to the other. They operate on the donor, removing the portion of the liver for transplant. Then, surgeons remove your diseased liver along with the gallbladder and place the donated liver portion in your body. They then connect your blood vessels and bile ducts to the new liver.
The surgery can take from 4 to 12 hours.
The transplanted liver portion in your body and the portion left behind in the donor’s body regenerate rapidly, reaching normal volume within several weeks.
After a Liver Transplant
After your liver transplant, you can expect to:
. Possibly stay in the intensive care unit (ITU) for a few days. After the surgery, multiple tubes will be inserted into the body to help the body do some main functions well during and a few days after the surgery. Doctors and nurses will monitor your condition to watch for signs of complications. They will also test your liver function frequently for signs that your new liver is working.
. Spend 5 to 10 days in the hospital. Once you are stable, you are taken to a transplant recovery area to continue recuperating.
. Have frequent checkups as you continue recovering at home. Your transplant team designs a checkup schedule for you. You may undergo blood tests a few times each week at first and then less often over time.
. Take medications for the rest of your life. You will take a number of medications after your liver transplant, many for the rest of your life. Drugs called immunosuppressants help keep your immune system from attacking your new liver. Other drugs help reduce the risk of other complications after your transplant.
The donor will be discharged in about a week and the recipient about three weeks after the surgery. If there is a problem, the recipient may stay in the hospital for a month or even longer. They have to stay longer in Iran for weekly medical commissions and take related tests before every commission so that the surgical team can be sure everything is in order.
The 6 months after the surgery is known as the Golden Time and the after-care instructions must be strictly followed. Expect six months or more recovery time before you feel fully healed after your liver transplant surgery. You may be able to resume normal activities or go back to work a few months after surgery. How long it takes you to recover may depend on how ill you were before your liver transplant and how much you follow up on the post-op care instructions prescribed by doctors.
Liver Transplant Post-op Care Instructions
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Do not dye your hair until one year after surgery
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Do not drive until 3 months after the surgery
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Fasten the medical belt through the first year after transplant
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Try to walk for 1 – 2 hours a day at intervals
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Do not lift heavy things over 10 kg
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Do not be exposed to the direct sun
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Wash the wound only with baby shampoo
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Do not go to the dentistry until 6 months after the surgery
What to Eat after a Liver Transplant?
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Only nuts with shells (such as walnuts and almonds)
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Olive oil
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Lean meats, poultry, and fish
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Only fruits and vegetables that you can peel
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Whole-grain breads, cereals and other grains
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Pasteurized low-fat milk and other dairy products
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Low-salt and low-fat food
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Adequate water and other drinks every day
What NOT to Eat after a Liver Transplant?
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Frying oil
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Fried meals and fast food
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Alcohol
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Pomegranate and its products
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Grapefruit and grapefruit juice
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Dried dates (unless you peel its skin)
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Industrial fruit juice (due to its high sugar)
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Fruits like grapes and berries during the first 2 – 3 months after the operation
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Dried nuts (such as berries, pistachios, etc.) during the first months after the surgery
FAQs about Liver Transplant
1. Who is a candidate for a liver transplant?