Mulago National Referral Hospital has announced that it will conduct Uganda’s first liver transplant in the first quarter of 2026, marking a major milestone in the country’s healthcare development and ending decades of reliance on overseas treatment for end stage liver disease.
The groundbreaking procedure will take place in the newly completed 450 bed Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital annex, whose state-of-the-art theatres and intensive care units have been equipped specifically for complex organ transplantation.
Hospital executives confirmed that the transplant team completed its final simulation exercises last week and is now awaiting only the identification of a suitable deceased donor.
According to Dr Baterana Byarugaba, the Executive Director of Mulago Hospital, the transplant program is the result of a five-year partnership between Mulago, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Yashoda Hospitals (Hyderabad, India), and the Ministry of Health.
“This is not just a medical event, it is a national achievement, for years, Ugandans with liver failure have had to travel to India, Egypt, or South Africa at enormous personal cost, and many simply could not afford it. In 2026, that journey ends here in Kampala,” Dr Byarugaba said.
He added that since 2021, eight Ugandan surgeons, four hepatologists, six anesthetists, and over 40 nurses and critical care specialists have undergone intensive training in India and South Africa.
The team is led by Dr Isaac Ezati, a hepatobiliary surgeon who completed a two-year fellowship in liver transplantation at Yashoda Hospitals, and Dr Olivia Namuguzi, head of critical care.
Dr Byarugaba said the hospital has already identified at least 12 potential recipients on its waiting list, with the first patient expected to be a 38-year-old teacher from Gulu district suffering from cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis B a disease that affects an estimated 1.2 million Ugandans.
A fully equipped transplant ICU with 10 dedicated beds, negative pressure isolation rooms, and a new histopathology and immunology laboratory were commissioned in October 2025.
Additionally, the Ministry of Health has committed UGX 18 billion over the next three years to cover immunosuppressive drugs and follow up care for the first 50 transplant recipients.
Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng cautioned that the program will initially depend on deceased (brain dead) donors, as living donor liver transplantation requires additional regulatory and ethical frameworks still under review.
“We are finalizing the Human Organ Transplant Act regulations to enable both deceased and, eventually, living donation, we appeal to families to consider organ donation when tragedy strikes one donor can save up to eight lives,” Dr Aceng stated.
Officials estimate the cost of a liver transplant at Mulago will be approximately UGX 120–150 million, roughly one third the price charged in India, with subsidies available for the poorest patients.
For a country that performed its first kidney transplant only in 2018, the arrival of liver transplantation at Mulago represents perhaps the most significant leap yet in Uganda’s journey toward advanced, affordable, and accessible specialized care.
