Minister of Health Andrei Usatai announced on Tuesday the first liver transplant in Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. The surgery will be performed by professor Vladimir Hotineanu, member of the Moldovan Parliament, and Romanian professor Irinel Popescu who will come from Bucharest specially for this surgery. Andrei Usatai said that the preparation for the transplant, including the purchase of necessary medical equipment for the intervention and for the rehabilitation of the patient, took a whole year. The surgery will be performed at the National Clinic Hospital, but the exact date and hour remain unknown, as it depends on the health state of the organ donor and of the beneficiary. The name and age of the patient will be published after the surgery. As regards the cost of the transplant, the Minister said that a similar surgery in Belarus or Ukraine cost about €55,000. In Moldova, the surgeries on health insurance holders will be covered from the funds of the National Company of Health Insurances. Minister of Health Andrei Usatai added that after the opening of the surgery body of the National Clinic Hospital next year, for the first time heart and brain surgeries will be performed on newborns in Moldova.