The estimated average cost of a liver transplant in Ontario, including follow-up costs, is $121 732, but the range varies widely — from $30 505 to $690 431 — because of factors such as disease severity, post-transplant infection and biliary complications. The figure is based on 1998 data, with allowances for inflation.
The study, conducted by physicians from the universities of Manitoba and Toronto and published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery (2002;45[6]:425-34), noted that the affordability of organ transplantation has been questioned but few data on the cost of liver transplantation are available, even though 1 procedure a day — 350 annually — is performed at Canada's 5 liver transplant centres. The authors say that performing procedures earlier will reduce costs. As well, elimination or reduction of the incidence of cytomegalovirus infection will help cut costs by reducing drug costs and the length of stay in hospital.
The new price tag is 42% higher than a 1998 estimate by an Ontario working group, mainly because that group did not include some fees and estimated the length of hospital stay at only 16 days. The new study found that the mean length of stay for these patients is 43 days, including 9 days in the intensive care unit. — Patrick Sullivan, CMAJ