Liver transplant at Koç University Hospital

Liver transplants at Koç University Hospital are performed in the Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu Organ Transplant Center. Koç University Hospital is a university hospital in the Topkapı district of Istanbul, Turkey. According to the hospital, it runs adult and pediatric liver transplant programs, and livers are also transplanted from living donors.

How liver transplantation is organized at Koç University Hospital

According to the hospital, adults receive liver transplants in the Organ Transplantation Center and children in the Pediatric Organ Transplantation Center. The adult center also transplants the kidney and pancreas; the pediatric center also transplants the kidney. The hospital is the teaching and research hospital of Koç University's School of Medicine and opened in 2014.

Whether a transplant is needed, and of which type — from a living or a deceased donor — the center's team decides after examining the patient. So the first step is a review of the records, not the trip.

Living donor: what to settle before you travel

According to the hospital, the center performs living donor liver transplants and can remove the donor's part of the liver laparoscopically, through small incisions instead of one large cut. For a patient from abroad, this means the donor question should be settled early: is there someone willing to donate. The center decides whether that person is suitable only after examining them, so the donor's details are needed together with the patient's records.

Who performs the surgery

Professor Turan Kanmaz, a transplant surgeon and pediatric surgeon, is part of the center's liver transplant team. According to the hospital, he has been practicing since 1996.

What is needed for a cost estimate

The center needs the patient's records: a discharge summary with the diagnosis and course of the liver disease, recent blood tests with liver function and clotting tests, liver CT or MRI and a list of current medications. If a donor is already identified, add how they are related to the patient, their age and blood type. For a child, add weight, height and reports from the pediatric hepatologist or surgeon.

How long to stay in Istanbul

The length of stay depends on the type of transplant, the donor's work-up and how the patient recovers after surgery. The hospital gives it in the treatment plan after reviewing the records. We do not quote a number of days without that plan: with a liver transplant, a wrong estimate means rebooking flights, visas and the donor's time off work.

For international patients

Koç University Hospital holds authorization from the Turkish Ministry of Health to treat international patients. The cost of a liver transplant is made up of the patient's and donor's work-up, the type of operation and the hospital stay, including intensive care, so there is no single figure.