Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) aims to perform four liver transplants a month, one a week, by the end of next year, double the current rate. Associate Professor Dr Md Saif Uddin said transplants are now routine and two are being done each month. The BSS report was published by Naya Diganta.
A team drawn from 19 departments, led by BMU's department of hepatobiliary, pancreatic and liver transplantation surgery, carries out the operations. Department chairman Professor Bidhan C Das said a transplant may be needed in end-stage cirrhosis, liver cancer and acute liver failure. Since 2010, 13 liver transplants have been performed in Bangladesh: eight at BMU, three at BIRDEM and two at Labaid.
BMU began its own programme in 2019; six of its eight transplants were done under the regular programme in 2025 and 2026. The latest six were entirely free under government funding, with technical support from a team from the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Hyderabad, India. Five of those six recipients are alive and one died of an infection; the four earlier patients are also well. Dr Saif said world-class centres succeed in 90 to 95 percent of cases and BMU in 90 percent. Two more transplants are scheduled for 30 and 31 October.
Ismat Iti, a class 12 student from Sarankhola in Bagerhat, received part of her elder sister Ayesha Siddika's liver free of charge on 4 July; both are well and went home on Monday. Sumaiya Kabir, 23, of Bandar in Narayanganj, gave part of her liver to her father, Haji Kabir Hossain, 62, on 3 July, and he is gradually recovering.
Specialists, citing WHO data, say about 50 million people in Bangladesh have liver disease, 22,000 to 25,000 die of it each year and more than 1,000 transplants are needed annually. A transplant package costs Tk 4 to 5 million in a neighbouring country and up to Tk 10 million with complications, and Tk 10 to 20 million in Thailand or Singapore. At BMU, even with government subsidy, a transplant may end up costing Tk 1 to 1.5 million. Recipients need lifelong follow-up and anti-rejection drugs costing Tk 10,000 to 15,000 a month at first and Tk 4,000 to 5,000 later.
BMU currently uses living donors; transplants from deceased donors have not yet begun, though Dr Saif said a law on this was recently passed. Close relatives can donate, and with official approval so can 'emotional donors'; relationships are checked closely to rule out any payment. Donors are usually healthy people aged 18 to 55, and no donor has died at BMU.
Source: Naya Diganta
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