Marrakech Hospital Performs Liver Transplant, First of Its Kind in Africa

Rabat – Mohammed VI University Hospital Center (CHU) in Marrakech successfully performed a liver transplant for a patient suffering from viral post-hepatitis B cirrhosis, becoming the first successful liver transplant of this type in Africa.

This transplant, the seventh of its kind in the world, was carried out by the University Hospital liver transplant committee in collaboration with the hepatobiliary surgery team at Beaujon Hospital, according to a statement from the CHU.

Each of two sisters donated parts of their livers to their 56 year-old brother, who was suffering complications related to cirrhosis viral post-hepatitis B for many years.

The surgery, which took place under good conditions, lasted for 14 hours. The first four hours to ensure the removal of both left livers from the donors, and ten hours to perform the transplant, said the statement. The two donors and the recipient are currently in surgical recovery to ensure proper care.

“This is a noble act of donating a part of the liver, and is considered the only treatment to save the life of the recipient who is suffering from hepatic cirrhosis,” said the same source.