NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI/AHMEDABAD, NOV 11
In a defining moment for Indian and South Asian healthcare, Apollo Hospitals Group has achieved a monumental milestone — successfully completing 5,000 liver transplants under the Apollo Liver Transplant Program, becoming the first hospital group in India and the region to reach this landmark. This extraordinary feat marks over 25 years of pioneering medical innovation, global outreach, and compassionate care for patients suffering from end-stage liver disease across more than 50 countries.
- First in India and South Asia to reach this landmark; milestone reflects 25 years of clinical excellence and compassionate innovation
- A legacy that began with India’s first pediatric liver transplant in 1998 continues to inspire global healthcare transformation
- “Surpassing 5,000 transplants is a tribute to our clinicians’ relentless spirit and India’s medical potential,” says Dr. Prathap C Reddy
A Legacy of Life and Leadership
Apollo Hospitals’ journey began with a landmark achievement — India’s first successful pediatric liver transplant on November 15, 1998. The recipient, 20-month-old Sanjay, born with biliary atresia, was given a new lease of life through this pathbreaking surgery. Today, Sanjay stands as a living symbol of Apollo’s transformative impact — a practicing doctor and father whose story embodies hope, healing, and the far-reaching power of medical excellence.
Reflecting on this milestone, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder & Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said: “This achievement reflects our unyielding commitment to redefine what is possible in Indian healthcare. When we celebrated our first transplant in 1998, I dreamed of a future where every patient in need could access world-class solutions, regardless of geography. Surpassing the 5,000-liver transplant milestone is a testament to that vision and a tribute to the relentless spirit of our passionate clinicians and staff.”
Transforming Transplant Care in India and Beyond
Over the past two decades, Apollo’s liver transplant program has consistently led the nation in medical innovation, performing complex ABO-incompatible, dual organ, and pediatric transplants — including procedures for infants as small as 3.5 kilograms. The program’s national significance was honoured through a commemorative postal stamp issued by the Government of India, a rare distinction in Indian medical history.
Dr. Madhu Sasidhar, President and CEO, Apollo Hospitals Group, remarked: “We are immensely proud to see how the program’s impact extends beyond numbers — from training the next generation of transplant surgeons to conducting groundbreaking research and consistently setting new clinical benchmarks. These achievements are a source of inspiration and aspiration not just for Apollo, but for all of Indian medicine.”
Between November 15, 1998 and October 10, 2025, the Apollo Liver Transplant Program has performed 5,001 transplants — including 4,391 adult and 611 pediatric cases, 700 deceased donor and 73 combined liver–kidney transplants — achieving a clinical success rate exceeding 90%, ranking among the best globally.
Advancing Global Standards in Transplant Medicine
Apollo’s program is globally acclaimed for comprehensive management of liver and multiorgan diseases — from neonatal liver failure to complex adult cases — combining affordability, advanced technology, and holistic post-transplant care. Through fellowships, surgeon training, standardized protocols, and clinical mentorship, Apollo has helped build liver transplant programs across the Global South, extending the reach of safe, accessible transplantation worldwide.
As Apollo expands its network of transplant centres across India and beyond, its mission remains unwavering — to ensure that every patient, wherever they live, can access timely, world-class liver transplantation, the gold standard for treating end-stage liver disease and liver cancer.
This achievement not only cements Apollo’s leadership in transplant medicine but also reaffirms its enduring vision — “to touch a billion lives through excellence, innovation, and humanity.”
