FNB Liver Transplant: Admissions, medical colleges, fees, eligibility criteria details

FNB Liver Transplantation or Fellow of National Board in Liver Transplantation also known as FNB in Liver Transplantation is a doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course. The duration of the FNB course is for 2 years.

A liver transplant is done to remove a diseased or damaged liver and replace it with a healthy one when it has been damaged to the point that it cannot perform its normal functions known as end-stage liver disease or liver failure.

The fellowship is aimed to impart training in all aspects of patient care and encourage research initiatives. This is planned under three heads: Academic, Clinical & Research. The course is a full-time course pursued at various accredited institutes/hospitals across the country.

Candidates can get admission to 2 years FNB course after successfully qualifying for the FET (Fellowship Entrance Test) examination which NBEMS conducts. FET is conducted annually as per the prescribed schedule. The merit-based counseling for admissions to the FNB Programme after the conduct of FET is administered by NBEMS.

The fee for pursuing FNB Liver Transplantation varies from accredited institute/hospital to hospital and is around Rs.1,25,000 per year.

After completion of their respective course, doctors can join the job market. Candidates can take reputed jobs at positions as research fellows, Senior residents, Consultants, etc. with an approximate salary range of Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 40 lakhs per year.

The Nomenclature of the FNB qualification awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is “Fellow of National Board”. The FNB qualifications are recognized qualifications in terms of the Gazette notification dated 10th August 2016.

What is FNB in Liver Transplantation?

FNB in Liver Transplantation is a two-year doctoral fellowship program that candidates can pursue after completing a postgraduate degree.

A liver transplant is a surgery that involves removing a liver that no longer functions properly (liver failure) and replacing it with a healthy liver from a deceased donor or a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor.

A liver transplant is usually reserved as a treatment option for people who have significant complications due to end-stage chronic liver disease. A liver transplant may also be a treatment option in rare cases of sudden failure of a previously healthy liver.

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released a curriculum for FNB Liver Transplantation.

The curriculum governs the education and training of FNB Liver Transplantation.

Course Highlights

Here are some of the course highlights of FNB Liver Transplantation

Name of Course	FNB Liver Transplantation
Level	Fellowship
Duration of Course	Two years
Course Mode	Full Time
Minimum Academic Requirement	Candidates must have a postgraduate medical Degree in DNB or MCh (G I Surgery) obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE, this feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022. For any further changes to the prerequisite requirement please refer to the NBE website.
Admission Process / Entrance Process / Entrance Modalities	Entrance Exam (FET) Merit-based counseling administered by NBEMS
Course Fees	Rs.1,25,000 per year
Average Salary	Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs.40 lakhs per year

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for FNB in Liver Transplantation are defined as the set of rules or minimum prerequisites that aspirants must meet in order to be eligible for admission, which include:

Name of Fellowship course	Course Type	Prior Eligibility Requirement
Liver Transplantation	FNB	DNB or MCh (G I Surgery)

Note:

Admission Process

The admission process contains a few steps to be followed for the candidates for admission to FNB. Candidates can view the complete admission process for FNB Liver Transplantation mentioned below:

• FET is a qualifying-cum-ranking examination for admission to Fellow of National Board (FNB)/Fellow of National Board - Post Doctoral (FNB-PD) courses.
• The selection of a student will be through an MCQ-based examination namely Fellowship Entrance Test.
• A student can apply for the fellowship courses for which his/her broad or super specialty qualification/ equivalent qualification is eligible, at the time of online submission of the application form.
• The total duration of the question paper will be 105 minutes (Part A - 45 minutes and Part B - 60 minutes).
• QUALIFYING CRITERIA: Students who obtain a minimum of 50th Percentile in their respective question paper/specialty shall be declared as “Qualified”.
• NBEMS shall declare a specialty-wise merit list i.e., there will be a separate merit list for each fellowship course. There shall not be any equating/scaling and normalization. The merit shall be generated strictly based on marks obtained by the student and the application of the prescribed tie-breaking criteria.
• The admission to Fellowship courses in the accredited hospitals shall be undertaken solely based on merit-based counseling conducted by NBEMS.
• Documents required to be produced during counseling: MBBS Degree Certificate and MD/MS/DNB/DM/MCh/DrNB Degree Certificate/Provisional Pass Certificate of eligible Post Graduate Medical Qualification issued.

Fees Structure

The fee structure for FNB Liver Transplantation varies from accredited institute/hospital to hospital. The fee is generally less for Government Institutes and more for private institutes. The average fee structure for FNB Liver Transplantation is Rs.1,25,000 per year.

Colleges offering FNB Liver Transplantation 

Various accredited institutes/hospitals across India offer courses for pursuing FNB Liver Transplantation.

As per the National Board of Examinations website, the following accredited institutes/hospitals are offering FNB (Liver Transplantation) courses for the academic year 2022-23.

FNB in Liver Transplantation is a two years specialization course that provides training in the stream of Liver Transplantation.

The course content for FNB Liver Transplantation is given in the NBE Curriculum released by the National Board of Examinations, which can be assessed through the link mentioned below:

Syllabus

Basic sciences relevant to hepatobiliary disease & transplantation

2. Pathogenesis of hepatobiliary disease

3. Principles & practice of hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery

4. Principles & Practice of Clinical Abdominal Organ Transplantation (Liver,

intestine, pancreas)

5. Minimal access to the liver and biliary surgery

6. Hepatology relevant to liver transplantation

7. Immunology, Molecular biology & Genetics of Transplantation

8. Regenerative Medicine & Cell-based therapies in Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic

Disease

Key contents in the above areas: The list below covers the areas of knowledge that the

Fellows would be expected to be well-versed by the end of their fellowship. This

list is not meant to be exhaustive or exclusive and may be modified based on changes

in clinical practice. The exit evaluation will primarily assess the application of this

knowledge in clinical situations.

i) Immunology of Transplantation:

a) Basic and clinical immunology including cellular and antibody-mediated immune responses.

b) Mechanism of ischemia/reperfusion injury, immune response to alloantigens

c) Mechanism of hyperacute, acute, and chronic allograft rejection

d) Tolerance mechanisms

ii) Pharmacology & Immunosuppression:

a) Pharmacology of immunosuppressive agents

b) Induction and maintenance of immunosuppression

c) Tailored immunosuppression: renal impairment, ACLF, HCC

d) ABO incompatible liver transplant: protocols

e) Adverse effects and drug interactions of immunosuppressive agents

iii) Deceased Donation, Organ Recovery & Allocation:

a) ‘Transplantation of Human Organs’ act and its implications for liver transplantation in India

b) Current legislation regarding the diagnosis of brain death

c) Determining brain death in a comatose patient

d) Assessment of a deceased donor and deceased donor liver graft

e) Technique of abdominal organ recovery from deceased donors, including DCD.

f) Principles of organ preservation & types of preservation fluids

g) Organ preservation techniques: Static cold storage, machine perfusion

h) Organ allocation systems in India & abroad: MELD-based, center-based, waiting time.

iv) Indications for Liver Transplantation:

a) Indications for liver transplantation in adults & children

b) Assessment of disease severity in chronic liver disease

c) Aetiology, diagnosis, management, and transplantation for acute liver failure

d) Acute on chronic liver failure: Definitions, management, the timing of transplantation

e) Indications & management issues in combined transplants- liver/kidney, liver/lung, liver/heart.

v) Live liver Donation:

a) Donor assessment protocols

b) Safety of live liver donation: Morbidity, mortality, near-misses

c) Techniques of donor hepatectomy- open, laparoscopic, robotic

d) Post-operative management after donor hepatectomy

e) Long-term follow-up after donor hepatectomy

vi) Recipient surgery:

a) Recipient hepatectomy, implantation techniques: whole graft/ partial graft

b) Issues in LDLT: GRWR, venous outflow reconstruction, portal flow

modulation

c) Issues in pediatric liver transplantation

d) Post-operative management of recipient: antimicrobials, immunosuppression, graft monitoring

e) Risk factors & management of early post-op complications: vascular thrombosis, bile leaks, EAD

f) Diagnosis & management of acute rejection episodes

g) Variant techniques: split liver transplant, auxiliary transplant

vii) Long-term management of liver transplant recipient

a) Complications of immunosuppression

b) Malignancies including PTLD

c) Post-transplant metabolic syndrome

d) Quality of life after liver transplantation

By the end of their Fellowship, the LT Fellow would have an in-depth knowledge of the above areas in clinical liver transplantation and hepatology relevant to transplantation, as well as be up-to-date with the latest in regenerative strategies and other areas of current research in Liver Disease and transplantation.

Career Options

After completing FNB Liver Transplantation, candidates will get employment opportunities in Government and the Private sector.

In the Government sector, candidates have various options to choose from which include Junior research fellow, Teaching at academic medical centers, and Consultants.

While in the Private sector, the options are Fellow (Liver Transplant), Junior research fellow, Senior Research fellow (Liver Transplant), and Consultants.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) –FNB Liver Transplantation Course/ FNB in Liver Transplantation Course

• Question: What is the complete full form of FNB?

Answer: The full form of FNB is a Fellow of National board.

• Question: What is an FNB Liver Transplantation?

Answer: FNB in Liver Transplantation or Fellow of National Board in Liver Transplantation is a doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course.

• Question: What is the duration of FNB in Liver Transplantation?

Answer: FNB in Liver Transplantation is a doctoral fellowship program of two years.

• Question: What is the eligibility of FNB in Liver Transplantation?

Answer: The candidates must have a postgraduate medical Degree in DNB or MCh (G I Surgery) from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE.The feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022. For any further changes to the prerequisite requirement please refer to the NBE website.

• Question: What is the scope of FNB Liver Transplantation?

Answer: FNB Liver Transplantation offers candidates various employment opportunities and career prospects.

• Question: What is the average salary for an FNB Liver Transplantation candidate?

Answer: The FNB Liver Transplantation candidate’s average salary is between Rs.10 lakhs to Rs. 40 lakhs per annum depending on the experience.

• Question: Can you teach after completing FNB Liver Transplantation Course?

Answer: Yes, the candidate can teach in a medical college/hospital after completing the fellowship.