NUH liver transplantation programme was established in 1990, catering to both adults and children. The services available include pre-transplant medical assessments, surgical and micro-surgical services, post-transplant intensive care and recovery, outpatient check-ups, and lifetime medical reviews.
National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT) is a leading transplant centre that performs on average 70% of the liver transplants in Singapore annually, with outcomes comparable to international benchmarks. Our care team ensures that every transplant patient receives one-stop comprehensive, dedicated and individualised care.
We are well-equipped with interventional radiology and endoscopy services – thereby improving graft and patient survival. This is the key to the success of liver transplantation and in managing possible ensuing complications.
Our transplant coordinators and other allied health professionals (such as medical social workers, transplant pharmacists, and dietitians) work together to provide the required support and education to our patients and their caregivers.
Find out more about liver failure and its treatments, frequently asked questions about liver transplant and donating your liver here.
Directors
Dr Mark Muthiah
Medical Director and Senior Consultant
Associate Professor Shridhar Iyer
Surgical Director and Senior Consultant
Professor Lim Seng Gee
Senior Consultant
Associate Professor Shridhar Iyer
Senior Consultant
Associate Professor Glenn Kunnath Bonney
Senior Consultant
Associate Professor Dan Yock Young
Senior Consultant
Associate Professor Alfred Kow
Senior Consultant
Dr Lee Guan Huei
Senior Consultant
Dr Lee Yin Mei
Senior Consultant
Dr Low How Cheng
Senior Consultant
Dr Prem H Thurairajah
Senior Consultant
Dr Gao Yujia
Consultant
Dr Daniel Huang
Consultant
Dr Mark Dhinesh Muthiah
Senior Consultant
Dr Pang Ning Qi
Consultant
Dr Eunice Tan
Consultant
Priscilla Wee
Principal Transplant Coordinator
Diana Teh
Senior Transplant Coordinator
Aye Su Mon
Transplant Coordinator
Brenda Kok
Transplant Coordinator
To date, NUCOT has performed more than 400 successful adult and paediatric living and deceased donor liver transplantations. We continue to provide post-transplant care and medical follow-ups at our Specialist Outpatient Clinic. On average, we perform about 70% of the total number of liver transplants (both living and deceased donor liver transplants) in Singapore annually.
In 2020, NUCOT performed 75% of the total liver transplants in Singapore (both living and deceased donor liver transplants).1
NUCOT is also a national referral centre for Singapore's deceased liver donations and transplants. In 2020, we performed 63.6% of the total number of deceased donor liver transplants in Singapore.1
1 Based on 2020 annual report from the Ministry of Health, National Organ Transplant Unit.
NUH started our first liver transplant in 1990, and since then, our post-transplant outcomes have been recognised internationally. Our clinical outcomes are better than or comparable with international benchmarks. Our post-transplant patient survival and graft survival rates are illustrated in the tables below:
| Patient Survival (Living Donor, 2007 – 2020) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-year | 3-years | 5-years | 10-years | |
| NUCOT (n=99) | 90.5% | 86.0% | 84.0% | 78.0% |
| US1 | 88.0% | 81.0% | 76.0% | 67.9% |
| Europe2 | 80.0% | 75.0% | 69.0% | 61.0% |
| Korea3 | 84.1% | – | 80.6%* | – |
1 OPTN/SRTR 2015 Annual Data Report: Liver / Transplantation: July 2018 - Volume 102 - Issue - p S24
2 Living donor liver transplantation in Europe HepatoBiliary Surg Nutr 2016; 5(2): 159-175
3 Effect of Institutional Case Volume: Analysis of 7073 Cases Between 2007 and 2016 in Korea. Transplantation. 2019 May; 103(5): 952-958
| Patient Survival (Deceased Donor, 2007 – 2020) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-year | 3-years | 5-years | 10-years | |
| NUCOT (n=132) | 93.0% | 89.0% | 82.0% | 75.0% |
| US1 | 87.3% | 79.4% | 73.6% | 59.8% |
| Europe2 | 85.0% | 79.0% | 72.0% | 59.0% |
| UK3 | 91.0% | 87.0% | 80.0% | 66.0% |
1 World J Transplant 2018 September 10; 8(5): 167-177
2 ELTR - Transplant International 2018; 31: 1293-1317
3 NHS Blood and Transplant Activity Report 2015/2016. *for 2002-2004 Transplants
Since 1990, NUCOT has performed more than 400 liver transplants and demonstrated clinical outcomes comparable to international standards. NUCOT has also established many major liver transplant milestones over the years:
2023
2022
Click here for more news related to NUCOT’s kidney transplant.
National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT) provides pre and post-transplant patients with comprehensive, dedicated and individualised care. We also welcome potential living organ donors to get in touch with us.
Referrals to NUCOT
NUCOT takes in self-referrals and referrals from healthcare practitioners. Patients can do a self-referral by contacting our NUCOT clinic directly or have your primary physician refer you to us.
Click here for our NUCOT clinic's location, contact details and operating hours or to make an appointment with us.
