Pediatric Liver Transplant
Pediatric liver transplant replaces a child's failing liver with a healthy whole organ or, very often, a small left-lateral segment donated by a parent or close adult relative. Most children are referred for biliary atresia or metabolic liver disease. Care is delivered by a dedicated paediatric team and requires lifelong immunosuppression and growth monitoring.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
Pediatric liver transplant is offered when a child's liver can no longer support healthy growth and development, whether from a long-standing condition such as biliary atresia, an inherited metabolic disorder, or sudden acute liver failure. Because young children need only a small graft, the donor is frequently a parent or close adult relative who gives the left-lateral segment of their own liver; split-liver and whole deceased-donor grafts are also used. The procedure is carried out by a team trained specifically in children, with paediatric anaesthesia, a dedicated paediatric intensive care unit, paediatric hepatology, specialist nutrition, and play and psychological support for the whole family.
From your first enquiry, a dedicated international patient coordinator guides your family through every step in your own language. Our paediatric hepatology team can carry out a remote second-opinion review of your child's records, scans and laboratory results before you travel, so you understand whether transplant is the right path and what to expect. Once the plan is clear, you receive a transparent, itemised cost estimate with no hidden charges, and the coordinator helps arrange travel, accommodation and the donor evaluation. Throughout the admission our care is family-centred, keeping parents close to their child and supporting siblings and carers.
Who is a candidate?
- Infants and children with end-stage chronic liver disease, most commonly biliary atresia that has progressed despite earlier surgery
- Children with inherited metabolic liver diseases such as urea-cycle disorders, Wilson's disease or tyrosinaemia
- Children with acute (sudden) liver failure who are not recovering with medical treatment
- Selected children with certain liver tumours confined to the liver, or with severe intrahepatic cholestasis
- A child whose growth, development or quality of life is being seriously affected by liver disease
- Families with a potential healthy adult living donor, or where a suitable deceased-donor or split graft can be arranged
What happens
- 1
Preparation & donor evaluation
Your child has a full assessment by the paediatric hepatology and transplant team, including blood tests, imaging and nutritional review. If a living donor is considered, the adult relative undergoes separate, thorough medical and psychological evaluation to confirm they can donate the left-lateral segment safely. The team confirms blood-group and size matching and prepares your child's nutrition and general health for surgery.
- 2
The transplant operation
Under general anaesthesia, the diseased liver is removed and the healthy graft — a living-donor segment, a split graft or a whole deceased-donor liver — is implanted, with the blood vessels and bile duct carefully connected. A living-donor operation runs in parallel theatres. Paediatric surgery of this kind is meticulous and can take several hours.
- 3
Paediatric intensive care
Your child recovers first in the paediatric intensive care unit, where breathing, circulation, fluid balance and the new liver's function are monitored closely. Immunosuppressive medicines are started to prevent rejection. As your child stabilises they move to the paediatric ward, where parents stay close and play specialists help them settle.
- 4
Recovery & follow-up
Before discharge the team teaches you about medicines, nutrition, signs of infection or rejection and daily care at home. Early follow-up visits check liver function and immunosuppression levels. After you return home, our team supports continued, lifelong monitoring of liver function, growth and development through remote follow-up in coordination with your local paediatrician.
Benefits
- Can be life-saving and allows many children to resume normal growth, development and schooling
- Living-donor grafts can be planned in advance, reducing time spent waiting while a child is unwell
- A small left-lateral segment is usually enough for a young child, and the donor's liver regenerates over time
- Care is delivered entirely by paediatric specialists in a child-friendly, family-centred environment
- Treats the underlying cause in many metabolic diseases, not just the symptoms
- Coordinated international support, remote review and lifelong follow-up give families continuity of care
Risks & considerations
- Rejection of the new liver, which is why lifelong immunosuppressive medicines and monitoring are needed
- Higher risk of infection while the immune system is suppressed, especially in the early months
- Surgical complications such as bleeding, or problems with the reconnected blood vessels or bile duct
- Side effects of long-term immunosuppression, including effects on kidneys, blood pressure and growth
- For a living donor, this is major surgery carrying its own risks, which are explained fully during evaluation
- Some children may need further procedures, and outcomes vary with the underlying diagnosis and overall health
- Contact your child's transplant team straight away if your child develops a fever, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, reduced appetite or energy, or wound redness or discharge — even after you return home — as these can be signs of rejection or infection needing urgent assessment
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Comprehensive Transplant Center.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Pediatric Liver Transplant — frequently asked questions
A living donor is usually a healthy adult parent or close relative with a compatible blood group and a suitably sized liver. Donors undergo a careful, independent medical and psychological evaluation to make sure donating the left-lateral segment is safe for them. If no living donor is suitable, a whole deceased-donor or split-liver graft may be used. Our coordinator and team will talk through every option with your family.
There is no single age or weight cut-off. Even small infants can be transplanted when needed, because only a small segment of liver is required for a young child, and the timing is based on your child's condition rather than age alone. The team weighs how the liver disease is affecting growth and health to recommend the right moment, which is one reason an early review of your child's records is so valuable.
Every child is different, so we do not quote a fixed figure. After our paediatric team reviews your child's case, you receive a transparent, itemised cost estimate covering the evaluation, the transplant, paediatric intensive care, the donor's care where relevant and early follow-up, together with a realistic length-of-stay estimate, typically several weeks. Your coordinator explains exactly what is and is not included before you commit to travel.
Yes. We strongly encourage a remote second-opinion review first. You share your child's medical reports, imaging and laboratory results, and our paediatric hepatology and transplant specialists assess whether transplant is appropriate and what it would involve. This lets your family make an informed decision, and receive an itemised estimate, before making any journey to Istanbul.
Related treatments
Considering pediatric liver transplant?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.