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Transplant
Modern medicine offers hope for patients who suffer organ failure, with the advancement of transplant and cellular therapies. These entail the taking of an organ or living tissues and cells to be implanted in another part of the body, or in another body. Considered among the most outstanding of achievements in medical science, transplants can save lives when conventional treatments have failed to delay or stop the progression of disease.
Bone marrow and stem cells can be transplanted in cellular therapy, to help suppress or cure a disease, while organ transplants, which include the lung, heart, pancreas and liver, can save or change the lives of those with end-stage diseases.
Two of the most common organ transplants are liver and kidney transplants.
While strategies and measures to manage liver and kidney conditions vary, transplants are now established as the leading approach to their end-stage diseases. In particular, living donor transplants are a preferable route to recovery for liver and kidney patients.
Although complex, a transplant can prolong life and restore quality of life. Over the years, such procedures have become more efficient, cost effective and culturally acceptable.
Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore have been serving the region with our expertise for decades. Learn more about living donor transplants, liver transplants, kidney transplants, how you can benefit from our transplant services, becoming a donor, and what you should know as an international patient.
Transplant care at Mount Elizabeth
Mount Elizabeth Hospitals offer you peace of mind with comprehensive transplant services. Whether you are a resident in Singapore or are coming from abroad, planning for a living donor kidney transplant or living donor liver transplant, detailed care is provided.
Our transplant team comprises professionals from diverse medical specialties, ready to help you through this complex and demanding procedure. From the rigorous pre-transplant evaluations for both donor and recipient to the close monitoring post-surgery, you can expect attentive guidance at every step. Transplant coordinators, dietitians and allied healthcare team members will continue to offer advice in the months following the operation.
For more information, contact us at:
- Mount Elizabeth Hospital Patient Assistance Centre: +65 6250 0000
- Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital Patient Assistance Centre: +65 6898 6898
Learn more about your kidney transplant and liver transplant journey with us and our dedicated care teams in Singapore.
What is a living donor transplant?
Organs or tissues can be surgically harvested from a healthy donor and transplanted to a recipient’s body. This is known as a living donor transplant.
Deceased donor transplants are provided for through Singapore’s Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA), whereby the kidneys, heart, liver and corneas may be removed for transplant when a donor passes away. However, the waiting list for a suitable organ from such cases is long.
In 2021*, this averaged 97.4 months for a kidney and 18.8 months for a liver. The donor pool is seeing a downward trend, and according to the Ministry of Health in Singapore, there are more than 500 patients in Singapore waiting to receive transplants every year.
Living donor transplants make a difference. Not only can they help shorten waiting times for a deceased donor organ, but they offer better quality organs and give a higher success rate. There is also a reduced risk of rejection by the recipient’s immune system. Recipients have the higher assurance of the donated organ functioning immediately after the procedure, as opposed to the several days or weeks a deceased donor organ takes to settle.
Surgery for living donor transplants can be scheduled electively, allowing for better preparation.
Learn more about the living donor transplant procedure for liver and kidney patients.
*Source: www.liveon.gov.sg
Types of living donor transplants
Living donor transplants come under 4 types, which describe their sources.
- Related donation, in which the donor is biologically related to the recipient. Blood-related family members such as siblings, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins make up this group.
- Emotionally-related donation, a type that is unique to Singapore. In these cases, when certain conditions are not met and family members are not suitable for donating their livers, individuals who are non-biologically related but have a very strong emotional relationship may be able to donate (e.g. spouse, childhood friends and close colleagues).
- Altruistic donations are often made by selfless individuals completely unrelated to the recipient. Such donations can also be anonymous.
- Paired exchange is specific to kidney transplants, when the donor and recipient have incompatible blood types. Two such pairs may "exchange" donors in simultaneous transplant operations, so that each patient can receive a kidney with a compatible blood type.
You can become a donor and give someone a second chance at life. In the steady hands of our team, your experience will be all the more rewarding.
Why you might need a living liver or kidney transplant
If you are a patient with chronic liver or kidney conditions, a transplant can offer you the chance to regain your health, and the freedom to live a fulfilling life.
Liver transplants are usually recommended if you have liver cirrhosis or end-stage liver cancer where there is substantial damage to the organ, or when the liver has failed.
A working liver has many important functions, from controlling your metabolism to protein synthesis, and from vitamin and iron storage, to removing toxins from your body. A new liver can add many more years to a person's life.
Kidney transplants are likewise an option in end-stage kidney disease.
A functioning transplant kidney will mean no more dialysis. Life will be normal for you, and will you have minimal dietary and fluid restrictions. Your body will be able to self-regulate fluids and electrolytes, and produce the hormones necessary for good bone health and red blood cell production.
Why choose Mount Elizabeth?
Living donor transplants at Mount Elizabeth Hospitals have earned a reputation for the quality of care provided. Our skilled and dedicated transplant surgeons, specialty nurses and therapists put you at the centre of focus, while our sophisticated surgical suites and well-designed hospital rooms ensure you enjoy the best of facilities. The trust of our many patients here and around the region is well-placed.
Learn more about the kidney transplant and liver transplant journey and meet our dedicated care teams in Singapore.
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