Bhubaneswar: AIIMS Bhubaneswar is set to add a new milestone in advanced healthcare with the launch of a 10-bed liver transplant ICU within the next two months, making it the first among all AIIMS institutions in India to offer such a specialised facility.

The new ICU will provide state-of-the-art surgical care with advanced infection-control measures. Patients with advanced liver cirrhosis (stages B and C) or children born with biliary atresia, a condition where the bile duct fails to develop, are often in need of liver transplants.

Currently, undergoing a liver transplant in private hospitals costs between ₹20 lakh and ₹30 lakh. However, at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the procedure will cost around ₹5 lakh, while patients with Ayushman Bharat cards may spend as little as ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh.

The institute is also in talks to provide the organ preservation solution free of cost to further reduce the burden on patients.

A specialised team of doctors at AIIMS Bhubaneswar has already been formed to oversee the transplant procedures.