MS, FRCS, DSc
HPB Surgery & Liver Transplantation, Liver Disease & Transplantation, Trauma Centre and Care, Abdominal Trauma
Chairman & Director of
Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre

Brief Profile
- Prof. Mohamed Rela is a pioneer in liver transplantation with over 28 years of experience. He started the Institute of Liver Disease and Transplantation at Global Gleneagles Health City in 2009. It has quickly become the largest liver transplant program in India. Since its inception, over 1500 liver transplantation surgeries have been performed under this program. He is also a professor of Liver Transplant Surgery at Kings College Hospital, London.
- Prof. Mohamed Rela, moved from Global Gleneagles group of hospitals to start ‘Dr. Rela Hospital’. His vision is to address the health care concerns of the local population with international standards. He also aims to provide cost-effective high-end treatments like multi-organ transplantation.

Educational Qualifications
- M.B.B.S – 1982, University of Madras, India
- M.S – 1987, University of Madras, India
- FRCS – 1988, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- DSc (Honoris causa) – 2013, The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, India
Accomplishments
- Prof. Mohamed Rela is one of the most accomplished surgeons in the world. He has published over 400 scientific articles and papers on liver transplantation, complex hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery and more.
- He has performed over 4000 liver transplant surgeries.
- In December 1997, a team led by him performed successful liver transplantation on a five-day-old girl, which gave him an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000. She is now a 20-year-old law student.
- He has pioneered the technique of split liver transplantation where one cadaver liver is split into two and transplanted into two individuals.
- As per an article published by ‘Top Masters in Healthcare Administration’, he is also one of the most Innovative Paediatric Surgeons alive.
Affiliations and Memberships
- BMA: British Medical Association
- RSM: Royal Society of Medicine
- BTS: British Transplantation Society
- ILTS: International liver transplant society
- AUGIS: Association of Upper GI surgeons of Great Britain
- ESOT: European Society of Organ Transplantation
- BASL: British Association of Study of the Liver
- IHPBA: International Hepato-Pancreato Biliary Association
- APASL: The Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver
- AST: American Society of Transplantation
Present position
- Chairman & Managing Director, Dr. Rela Hospital, Chennai
- Professor of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Institute of Liver Disease, King’s College Hospital, NHS Trust, London
- Course Director, Post MCh Fellowship in Liver Transplantation, Dr MGR Medical University, Tamil Nadu
- President-Elect 2021 for the International Liver Transplant Society
- Executive Council Member, Living Donor Liver Transplantation – Study Group
Honors and Awards
- Panchanna Chaterjee Oration and Gold Medal: Association of Surgeons of India. December, 1996
- Senior Lecturer: King’s College, University of London, 2001
- Recognised Teacher status and PhD Supervisor: University of London, 2001
- Professor of Liver Surgery and Transplantation: King’s College, University of London, 2005
- Scroll of Honour and Medal: Jawaharlal Institute of Post graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, 2009
- Dr Madhanagopal Oration and Medal: Madras Medical College, 2010
- Scroll of Honour: The Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University, 2012
Editorial Work and Reviewer
Editorial Board:
- Associate Editor – “Transplantation” – Official Journal of The Transplantation Society
- Editor – Liver Transplant Forum – Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology – Official journal of the Indian National Association for the Study of the Liver (INASL) 2010-2015
Reviewer:
- “Liver transplantation” official journal of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
- “British Journal of Surgery” Europe’s premier surgical journal
- “Transplant International” official journal of European Society for Organ Transplantation
- “Paediatric Transplantation” official journal of The International Paediatric Transplant Association
- “HPB International” official journal of International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
- “Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology” official journal of Indian Association for Study of the Liver
- Hepatology International – Official journal of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL)
- “Langenbeck’s Archives of Surgery”
- Annals of Surgery
- World Journal of Surgery
- “Case Reports in Pathology”
- “International Journal of Nephrology”
Innovation
Surgical Innovations
He has published extensively in the area of clinical liver transplantation (over 160 peer reviewed articles). Throughout his period as a consultant surgeon, he has concentrated on developing and practicing new surgical techniques in liver transplantation. The major drive for this has been shortage of donor organs particularly for small children. He has led the country in techniques such as Split liver transplantation, and led the world in performing Auxiliary liver transplantation and Mono-segment liver transplantation for transplantation in neonates.
