Robotic Liver Transplant Milestone: KFSHRC Achieves Global First With Living Donors

The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre has reported a major step in organ transplantation, after completing a fully robotic liver transplant involving living donors. Surgeons used robotic systems during removal of donor tissue and during implantation, and hospital reports confirmed that the complex operation finished without complications for the donors or the recipient.

Medical teams stated that both donors left the hospital on the third day after surgery, reflecting rapid post-operative recovery. The recipient left intensive care after seven days, then stayed under close inpatient observation until doctors confirmed stable liver function and overall clinical improvement.

In this case, the KFSHRC transplant team managed a situation that required two related living donors, each providing a left liver lobe. This strategy secured enough liver volume for the recipient, while preserving adequate remaining liver volume for each donor, and the hospital described the combination as a world first using a completely robotic technique.

The procedure showed that KFSHRC can deliver highly tailored care through a single robotic pathway that covers both donor surgeries and the actual robotic liver transplant. According to the medical team, this method widens the range of living-donor liver transplant options that can be attempted while keeping donor risk within strict safety limits.

The hospital explained that the operation forms part of an advanced KFSHRC robotic liver transplant program, which has now passed 100 fully or partly robotic liver transplant cases. Surgeons have built this capability over many years, combining robotic systems, refined surgical planning, and detailed imaging to handle increasingly complex transplant scenarios.

Executive Director of Organ Transplantation Professor Dieter Broering said that the procedure reflects the gradual expansion of robotic surgery in liver transplantation, supported by years of accumulated expertise. He noted that advanced technologies are used to enhance surgical safety, accelerate recovery, and improve long-term quality of life, while ensuring strict protection of donor safety at every stage of care.

KFSHRC robotic liver transplant outcomes and global rankings

KFSHRC stated that the latest robotic liver transplant result strengthens its international standing in transplant science and clinical outcomes. The institution ranks first in the Middle East and Africa, and fifteenth worldwide, in the list of the top 250 academic medical centres for 2025, reflecting wide recognition of its specialist services.

The hospital’s broader profile also includes strong performance in independent brand and quality assessments. Brand Finance 2024 lists KFSHRC as holding the highest valued healthcare brand in Saudi Arabia and the wider region, and Newsweek rankings place the hospital among several global benchmark lists for coming years, as shown below.

The fully robotic liver transplant using two living donors highlights how KFSHRC is using robotic systems to handle highly complex liver cases while maintaining strict donor protection and careful follow-up. With more than 100 robotic liver transplant procedures completed, the hospital continues to apply this approach within defined safety frameworks and international clinical standards.

With inputs from SPA