Doctors at the Mongolian National Cancer Centre have successfully performed the nation’s first liver transplant from a living donor.

A team of more than forty surgeons transplanted a section of liver on Sunday from a 20-year old man to his 42-year old uncle who has been diagnosed with hepatitis B and C. The operation lasted for seven hours with support from doctors of the Samsung Medical Centre of South Korea. According to sources, the condition of both donor and recipient is stable.

Six times higher than the global average, liver cancer is now the most lethal health problem in Mongolia.

Currently, Mongolian patients diagnosed with liver cancer have transplantation surgery in India and South Korea. They pay between 11,000-15,000 U.S. dollars for the procedure, which creates a huge financial burden on the families of most of the patients.