We reply to every enquiry within 24 hours
Published 3 September 2026 · 6 min read
Who can give part of their liver to a family member, what tests the donor goes through, the approvals India asks foreign patients for, and how long patient and donor stay.
Facts checked on 8 October 2026
When a family starts planning a liver transplant in another country, the first real question is rarely about the operation. It is about the donor. Most liver transplants for patients who travel to India use a living donor, a healthy relative who gives part of their own liver. So before anyone books a flight, the family has to work out who can give, whether that person is fit to do it, and what the law in India asks for.
The liver is the only solid organ in the body that grows back. In a living donor liver transplant (LDLT), the surgeon removes a portion of the donor's liver, usually the right lobe for an adult patient or a smaller left section for a child. The patient's diseased liver is taken out and the donated portion is connected in its place. Over the following weeks and months, both pieces grow towards a normal working size.
Two operations happen on the same day, so the donor's health matters as much as the patient's.
Livers from deceased donors are also transplanted in India, but they are scarce and allocated through government waiting lists. For most foreign patients, a living donor from the family is the realistic route. If you have no suitable relative, ask about the current position on deceased donor organs before you plan anything else.
India's transplant law is the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOTA), with detailed rules made in 2014. Telangana, where Hyderabad is, adopted the central Act and its 2011 amendment in March 2025.
The law defines a "near relative" as a spouse, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter. The donor must be over 18.
For foreign patients the rules are stricter than for Indian patients. In practice, transplant teams expect a foreign patient's donor to be a near relative, and the whole approval file is built around proving that relationship. A friend, a cousin or an in-law should not be your plan. If the only willing donor is outside that list, tell us early so the hospital can tell you plainly whether anything is possible.
Every living donor transplant needs approval from an Authorisation Committee. For foreign nationals, this approval must come before any surgery. The committee is set up under the rules and includes senior doctors who are not part of the transplant team, along with members from outside the hospital. Its job is to confirm the relationship, check that no money is changing hands, and make sure nobody is pressuring the donor.
The key document from your side is Form 21, a certificate of relationship between donor and recipient. A senior official of your country's embassy in India signs it. The form also refers to a recommendation from a government department in your home country, so start with your own ministry or health department before you travel. Expect to provide:
The committee interviews the patient and the donor, usually separately. The rules require it to give its final decision within 24 hours of that meeting. If you do not speak English, we arrange an interpreter if the committee allows one.
These rules were amended twice in 2026 already. The hospital's transplant coordinator will give you the current checklist, and we compare it with what you have before anyone flies.
Donor evaluation is careful, and it happens in stages. A donor can be stopped at any stage.
Blood group. The donor's blood group should normally be compatible with the patient's. Some centres do transplants across incompatible groups with extra treatment, so ask if this applies.
Liver size. A CT scan measures the volume of the donor's liver (CT volumetry). The surgeon checks that the portion taken is large enough for the patient's body weight and that enough stays behind to keep the donor safe. Many teams look for the graft to be at least 0.8% of the patient's body weight, and for about a third of the liver to remain with the donor. Each surgeon sets their own limits.
Liver health. Blood tests, an ultrasound and often an MRI check for fatty liver and map the blood vessels and bile ducts. A fatty liver is a common reason for a delay. Some donors are asked to lose weight and come back for repeat tests.
General fitness. Heart, lung and kidney tests, screening for infections, and a meeting with a psychologist or counsellor. The donor must be choosing freely.
You can start part of this at home. We can share the list of tests the hospitals ask for, so the donor can have blood group and basic tests done before travelling. The final checks are repeated in India.
These are typical figures, and your own team will give you the real ones.
Plan for the patient to be in India for about six to eight weeks in total. Bring enough for a long stay, and have someone in the family ready to take over as attendant if the first person needs to go home.
We send your reports to partner hospitals with transplant programmes. Each one quotes for your case, and we ask each hospital to show the donor evaluation separately. Once you choose, we request the visa invitation letter from that hospital, check it against every passport, and help patient, donor and attendant each prepare their own visa application. We also book flights, airport pickup and a stay close to the hospital. A coordinator stays in touch from Hyderabad by phone and WhatsApp through the surgery and the weeks of check-ups, and an interpreter is arranged at the hospital when you need one. After you go home, we stay in touch for follow up with the transplant team.
Blood group is the first check for any donor, so send the patient's latest reports with the name, age and blood group of each relative who might give.
Get a free quote
Send the details and any reports you have. We reply within 24 hours.
13 October 2026 · 5 min read
What a hospital quote usually covers and leaves out, implants and devices, currency, length of stay, follow-up costs at home, and why the lowest figure is only part of the comparison.
11 October 2026 · 5 min read
The new 30-day visa exemption and the medical treatment visa, the arrival card, heat and rain during recovery, booking the flight home after surgery and follow up with your own doctor.
9 October 2026 · 5 min read
General waiting times published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the NHS and the CDC, how doctors usually advise preventing blood clots on the flight, and how airline medical clearance works.
A real person on our team reads every enquiry and replies within 24 hours.
