Uzbekistan Keeps Kids Home With Advanced Pediatric Surgery

Seven-month-old children are receiving liver transplants in their own country for the first time, sparing their families both a $50,000 bill and the trauma of traveling abroad for emergency care.

Uzbekistan transformed its pediatric healthcare system in 2025, introducing 199 new treatment techniques and enabling doctors to perform 379 types of rare and complex surgeries. The National Children's Medical Centre now offers procedures that were previously only available overseas, including bone marrow transplants, robotic brain surgery, and organ transplantation.

The changes mean real financial relief for families. Bone marrow transplantation for children with cancer or blood disorders typically costs between $100,000 and $250,000 abroad. Now these procedures happen at home, funded entirely by the government for all children under 18.

The first pediatric liver transplant in Uzbekistan used segments from a mother's liver to save her infant daughter, who had a congenital liver disorder. Both recovered well after surgery. Previously, families facing this diagnosis had to find ways to afford treatment in another country or watch their children go without care.

Medical teams trained in Russia, Belarus, Turkey, China, and South Korea before bringing these techniques home. The National Children's Medical Centre earned international accreditation after meeting 1,200 clinical standards, becoming the first standalone pediatric facility worldwide to achieve this recognition.

Robot-assisted systems now guide surgeons through delicate procedures like removing deep brain tumors. In one case, a six-month-old with severe epilepsy had seizures that wouldn't respond to medication. Surgeons used robotic assistance to identify and remove the problem area. The seizures stopped.

Around 40 children have received bone marrow transplants at the center so far. When family members weren't compatible donors, doctors successfully used stem cells from unrelated donors through a specialized technique.

The expansion extends beyond the capital. Regional facilities across Uzbekistan now perform complex operations that once required referral to foreign hospitals. Artificial intelligence assists with 43 types of medical procedures, helping doctors diagnose and treat conditions more accurately.

Emergency procedures have also advanced. Surgeons in Chirchik successfully separated conjoined twins just nine hours after their premature birth. The twins shared intestinal and bladder tissue, making the surgery particularly complex. Local specialists completed the entire operation without outside help.

The Ripple Effect

Keeping medical care domestic means families stay together during the most frightening moments of their lives. Parents can be present for their children's recovery without navigating foreign healthcare systems or scrambling for travel funds. Extended family can visit. Siblings don't lose both parents to overseas trips.

The shift also builds long-term capacity. Every procedure performed in Uzbekistan trains more specialists, improves equipment maintenance, and strengthens the entire healthcare system for future generations.

Thousands of families now have access to world-class pediatric care regardless of their ability to pay for international treatment.