Liver Transplant in Turkey for International Patients
How a living-donor liver transplant is assessed in Turkey: who can donate part of their liver under Turkish law, what the transplant centre checks in donor and recipient, and how recovery and aftercare work.
Information only. NexWell does not find, supply or pay donors.
Quick answer
International patients are assessed in Turkey for living-donor liver transplants, where a relative donates part of their liver. The donor must be the recipient's spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree; any other donor needs ethics-commission approval. Deceased-donor livers are generally not available to foreign patients.
- Transplant type
- Living donor (part of the liver)
- Donor
- Spouse (2+ years) or relative to 4th degree
- Other donors
- Ethics-commission approval
- Deceased-donor liver
- Generally not available to foreign patients
- Where
- Ministry of Health–licensed centres
- Donors via NexWell
- None: we do not find or pay donors
Who can be a living liver donor (Turkish law)
The legal framework in one paragraph
Under Turkish Law No. 2238 (1979) and the Organ Transplantation Services Regulation (Official Gazette, 9 Dec 2022), a living donor must be the recipient's spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree; all other living-donor cases require approval by a provincial ethics commission, and buying or selling organs is a criminal offence.
NexWell does not find, supply or pay donors.
In a living-donor liver transplant, a healthy person gives part of their liver to the recipient. The two-year marriage condition does not apply when the illness was diagnosed after the marriage; the transplant centre checks the dates.
Paying a donor is prohibited and is a criminal offence. For the wider legal picture, see our guide to organ transplants in Turkey.
Can international patients receive a deceased-donor liver?
Generally not. As far as we know, foreign nationals without a Turkish identity number are not added to the national deceased-donor waiting list. Plans for international patients are therefore built around a living donor, and the transplant centre confirms the current position for your nationality.
This means a liver transplant is only realistic if you have a suitable, willing donor who meets the legal rules above and who passes the centre's own safety assessment.
Eligibility: MELD, diagnosis and what to send
Transplant teams look at why the liver is failing, how advanced the disease is and whether the rest of your body can cope with major surgery. Many centres use the MELD score, which is calculated from blood tests, to judge how urgent a transplant is. Common reasons for a liver transplant include advanced cirrhosis, liver cancer that meets accepted transplant criteria and acute liver failure.
For a first review, the transplant team typically asks for:
- A summary of your diagnosis and treatment history
- Recent blood tests, including liver function and clotting, and your MELD score if available
- Recent imaging reports (ultrasound, CT or MRI) and any biopsy or endoscopy reports
- A list of current medicines and known allergies
- Details of your proposed donor, including blood group, if known
Donor evaluation and safety
Donating part of a liver is major surgery for a healthy person, so the donor is assessed as a patient in their own right, separately from the recipient. The centre checks blood group compatibility, liver size and structure with imaging, general health and the donor's understanding of the risks.
The donor must agree freely and without payment, and can withdraw at any point. The centre can decline a donor if the risk is too high, even when the donor is willing and legally eligible.
The ethics-commission step
Where the law requires it, the transplant centre files the application with a provincial ethics commission, which checks that the donation is voluntary and unpaid. The regulation also routes cases involving foreign nationals residing in Turkey under Law No. 6458 to the commission even when donor and recipient are relatives.
Timing depends on complete documents and the commission's schedule. Surgery is not scheduled before approval where approval is required.
Surgery and hospital stay
A living-donor liver transplant involves two operations carried out together by the transplant team. In the donor's operation, part of the liver is removed. In the recipient's operation, the diseased liver is replaced with that part. Over time the donor's remaining liver and the transplanted portion regrow.
Both people are monitored closely in hospital, and the transplant team decides when each is well enough to leave. The expected hospital stay for your case is set out in the written plan the centre provides after reviewing your records.
Recovery and returning home
After a liver transplant the recipient takes anti-rejection medicine and has regular blood tests. The transplant centre gives your home hepatologist a written handover: the operation report, your medication plan and a monitoring schedule, so care continues close to home.
The donor also needs follow-up after returning home. Travel is planned around medical clearance, not a fixed date, and neither person should stop or change medicine without the transplant team.
Who reviews your case
Kidney and liver transplant cases arranged by NexWell Clinics are reviewed together with Op. Dr. Mesut Çaynak and his transplant team at ASV Yaşam Hospital in Antalya, a Ministry of Health–licensed transplant centre.
NexWell Clinics is a medical tourism company (Nexwell Global Solutions FZCO, Dubai). Surgery, donor evaluation and the ethics-commission application are carried out by the transplant centre, not by NexWell.
General Surgeon
Reviews kidney and liver transplant cases with the team at ASV Yaşam Hospital, Antalya.
Also considering a kidney transplant?
If your family member needs a kidney instead, read our guide to kidney transplant in Turkey. Liver and kidney transplants follow the same legal rules for living donors.
Liver transplant in Turkey: common questions
Can I have a liver transplant in Turkey as a foreigner?
International patients can be assessed for a living-donor liver transplant at a Ministry of Health–licensed transplant centre. You need a suitable, willing donor who meets Turkish legal requirements, and the centre must confirm that a transplant is medically appropriate. Deceased-donor livers are generally not available to foreign patients.
Who can be my living liver donor?
Your donor must be your spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree, by blood or marriage. Any other living donor needs approval from a provincial ethics commission. The donor must also pass the transplant centre's own medical and psychological assessment and agree freely, without payment.
Can a friend or unrelated person donate?
Only if a provincial ethics commission approves the case, and approval is not guaranteed. The commission checks that the donation is voluntary and unpaid. Paying a donor, or arranging payment for one, is a criminal offence in Turkey. Anyone offering you a donor for money should be refused.
Can I get a liver from a deceased donor in Turkey?
Generally no. As far as we know, foreign nationals without a Turkish identity number are not added to the national deceased-donor waiting list, so plans for international patients rest on a living donor. The transplant centre confirms the current position for your nationality before you travel.
What documents prove the donor relationship?
Usually official civil-registry documents such as birth or marriage certificates, legalised with an apostille and translated where required. The transplant centre confirms the exact list for your country and donor. Collect documents early, because missing or unlegalised papers are a common cause of delay.
How long do the donor and recipient stay in Turkey?
The stay depends on how each person recovers, how the transplanted liver works and when the transplant team clears you to travel. The ethics-commission step can also affect timing. After the centre reviews your records, your coordinator gives you a written plan for your case rather than a general estimate.
How long is recovery for the donor?
Recovery varies with the donor's age, general health and the extent of surgery. The donor's remaining liver regrows over time, but donation is major surgery and needs careful follow-up. The transplant team sets the donor's recovery and follow-up plan individually and clears the donor before travel home.
What tests are needed before travel?
Typically blood tests, including liver function and blood group, imaging such as CT or MRI, and your medical history for the recipient, plus a separate health assessment for the donor. The transplant team decides the exact list after seeing your records, and may repeat some tests at the centre.
Who continues my care at home?
Your home hepatologist or transplant clinic. The transplant centre provides a written handover with the operation report, your anti-rejection medication plan and a monitoring schedule. Arrange a home specialist who agrees to follow you before you travel, because lifelong follow-up is part of every liver transplant.
Does NexWell find or pay donors?
No. NexWell does not find, supply or pay donors. NexWell coordinates records review, travel and logistics. Donor evaluation, the ethics-commission application and surgery are carried out by the transplant centre. If anyone offers you a donor for money, do not proceed, because it is illegal.
Send your records for an eligibility review
Share your diagnosis, recent test results and imaging. The transplant centre's team reviews whether a transplant is medically and legally possible for you and tells you what else it needs. This is a medical review, not an offer of organs or donors. NexWell does not find, supply or pay donors.
Related guides
Organ transplants in Turkey
The legal framework and process for every transplant type.
Read the guide →Kidney transplant in Turkey
Living-donor kidney transplant: rules, work-up and follow-up.
Read the guide →Bone marrow transplantation
Stem cell transplants, donor matching and long-term follow-up.
Read the guide →Sources
- Law No. 2238 on the Removal, Storage, Grafting and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues (mevzuat.gov.tr)
- Organ Transplantation Services Regulation, Official Gazette of 9 December 2022 (resmigazete.gov.tr)
For information only, not medical advice and not an offer of treatment, organs or donors. Eligibility for any transplant is decided by the transplant centre and, where the law requires it, by an ethics commission. See our editorial policy and medical disclaimer. NexWell Clinics is a medical tourism company (Nexwell Global Solutions FZCO, Dubai); treatment is provided by independent, Ministry of Health–licensed hospitals and clinicians. Last updated 24 October 2026.