AIH Becomes Third Hospital in Islamabad to Launch a Liver Transplant Programme

ISLAMABAD: Advanced International Hospital (AIH) has launched its Liver Transplant Programme, becoming the third hospital in Islamabad to offer the highly specialized procedure, the hospital announced on Wednesday. The programme was inaugurated at AIH in G-8 Markaz on September 9, marking a significant expansion of liver transplant services in the federal capital. The launch comes as Pakistan continues to face a substantial need for liver transplantation. An estimated 5,000 patients require liver transplants in the country each year, while the availability of transplant facilities has historically remained limited. Patients from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding areas have often had to travel to Lahore or seek treatment abroad for liver transplantation, adding significant financial and logistical pressures. Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Hafiz Umer Farooq, Consultant Hepatobiliary and Liver Transplant Surgeon, outlined the clinical pathway for the new programme. The service will cover patient assessment and listing, evaluation of living-related donors, transplant surgery, dedicated transplant intensive care and lifelong follow-up. Dr. Farooq brings extensive experience to the programme. According to AIH, he has been involved in more than 1,000 liver transplants and over 500 major hepatobiliary procedures at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) in Lahore. Dr. Muhammad Mujeeb Khan, Medical Director at AIH, said the hospital was developing a multidisciplinary service for patients with cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, acute liver failure and selected liver cancers. He emphasized that successful transplantation requires coordinated care beyond the surgical procedure, involving hepatology, critical care, anaesthesia, cardiology and long-term follow-up. The inauguration was attended by Prof. Dr. Muzaffar Latif Gill, Dr. Imran Yousaf, Dr. Shazli Manzoor, Prof. Dr. Rao Sohail and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Hanif, along with members of the hospital’s medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, cardiology, critical care, radiology and allied health teams. AIH is a 200-bed multispecialty tertiary care hospital located in G-8 Markaz, Islamabad. It provides emergency and critical care, diagnostic and surgical services, as well as specialized organ transplant programmes. The hospital said the new liver transplant programme would strengthen access to advanced transplant care for patients in Islamabad and surrounding regions.