'Fatty livers' bring down liver transplants by 25-30 pc: Govt

Nearly 30 per cent of all liver for transplantation is rejected because the donors have 'fatty livers', a disease which is likely to increase in future, the government today said.
Minister of State for Health Shripad Naik said that the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered to be a known cause of rejection for liver transplantation because of accumulation of fat in the liver.
"As per information received from Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi, about 25-30 per cent of liver from live donors are rejected as a result of fatty liver.
"ILBS has also conveyed that from International studies, it is reported that of all the livers rejected from cadaver (brain dead) donors, 25-30 per cent were due to fatty liver," Naik said.

Fatty liver, or steatosis, is a broad term that describes the buildup of fats in the liver.
Most of the liver transplants in the country are living related where portion of liver used as a new graft is from a live person. The poor quality of liver to be used for transplant can lead to poor regeneration with an increased risk of adverse transplant outcome, the minister said.

"It is also believed that with the increase in obesity, diabetes and metabolic risk factors, the prevalence of NAFLD is likely to increase which can further add to increase in rejection rate of organs from live donors," Naik said.

He said that liver transplants in India have been increasing over the last few years, and an estimated 1,400 liver transplants were done in the country last year.
"However, the number of patients requiring liver transplant in the country is believed to be much higher," he added.