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transplant

I was wondering, if someone needs a liver transplant, can the donor be alive , can you get part of a liver?                          JoannF54
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446474 tn?1446347682
This is info on LDLT at my transplant center. There may be some small detail differences at other transplant centers but basically this explains the process....

About 1/3 of living donors match the requirements to donate to the recipient.

Hector
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http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/treatments/living_donor_liver_transplant/index.html

Living Donor Liver Transplant
In a living donor liver transplant, a piece of liver is removed from a living donor and transplanted into a recipient. The procedure is possible because of the liver's unique ability to regenerate itself.

When surgeons remove a piece of the donor's liver, the part that remains quickly grows back to its original size. Regeneration happens over days to weeks and certainly within eight weeks. This technique means more people can donate and receive livers.

Surgeons at UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital have performed living donor liver transplants, using adult donors for children, since 1992.

Benefits of Living Donor Transplants
At UCSF, the majority of organs for transplant are obtained from people who have died and whose families have given permission for their organs to be donated. But an increasing number of liver transplants are performed with portions of livers donated by a living relative or friend.

Nationally, there are more than 17,500 patients on the waiting list, with more added each day. Almost 5,000 patients receive transplanted livers every year, but more than 1,700 patients die each year while on the waiting list.

Living donors not only reduce the waiting time, but they improve the chance for transplant success. Patients who receive transplants from living donors can better prepare for surgery, knowing in advance when the transplant will take place. Also, the liver itself is "fresher" because the donor and recipient are in nearby operating rooms and the piece of donated liver is transported within minutes.

Donor Requirements
Potential donors must meet certain basic requirements to be considered. First, the donor must want to make this gift. During the evaluation process, we want to make sure donors are not being coerced. Donors don't have to be a relative of the recipient, as long as they are a good donor match in other respects such as blood type.

Donors can't be pregnant or overweight, although overweight candidates who lose weight may be considered.

Donors should be:

18 to 55 years of age
In good health with no major medical or psychiatric illnesses
Non-smokers for at least six weeks prior to surgery
Able to understand and comply with instructions for surgery preparation and recovery
If live donation is feasible, a donor evaluation will be performed after the recipient's testing is completed. If, after testing the donor, the transplant team determines the donation can be performed, a surgery date is scheduled for both the donor and recipient. This process usually takes up to four to six months.

Donor Evaluation
Once we've confirmed that the donor's blood type is compatible with the recipient, the donor will receive a detailed confidential questionnaire about family medical history, lifestyle and other information.

The evaluation includes a series of tests to check the donor's blood type and overall health, including:

Abdominal ultrasound
Chest X-ray
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
A doctor who isn't a member of the transplant team will complete the donor's medical evaluation. This doctor will serve as the "donor advocate" throughout the surgery and recovery.

Procedure
Donors are asked to donate blood in case they need blood during or after the donor surgery. During the surgery, about 40 percent to 60 percent of the donor's liver is removed.

The liver is divided into a right lobe and a left lobe. This allows surgeons to divide the liver into two distinct parts that can function independently of each other. The right lobe comprises about 60 percent of the total liver volume and the left lobe comprises about 40 percent. When the recipient is a child, a piece of the donor's left lobe, called the left lateral segment, is removed.

Surgery on the donor and the recipient take place at the same time, in separate operating rooms.

Recovery
After surgery, the average hospital stay for the donor is seven days. Donors are given pain medication after the surgery, initially through an intravenous tube, and later orally. Donors also receive a pain medication prescription before leaving the hospital. Most donors experience discomfort for two to four weeks after surgery.

The liver begins to regenerate almost immediately. Most of the regeneration occurs in the first two weeks after surgery, followed by a slower phase of growth over the next year.
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To get more detailed information there are a number of articles that have links of this web page.
http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/treatments/living_donor_liver_transplant/index.html

Benefits and Risks of Living Donor Liver Transplant
Liver Donors FAQ: Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Liver Donors FAQ: Evaluation to Become a Donor
Liver Donors FAQ: The Donation Surgery
Liver Donors FAQ: Post-Operative Care and Recovery
Donating Blood Before Your Hospital Stay
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163305 tn?1333668571
I'm such a slow typist, we must have been replying at the same time ,)
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163305 tn?1333668571
Yes, yes, yes !
The liver is the only organ capable of regeneration.
Three years ago I had a live liver transplant.
My daughter was my donor.
I received 66 % of her liver and within 3 months her liver had completely regrown.  
Remember the Greek myth Prometheus ? His liver grew back too.




Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes, one of the members here had it done from her daughter and both are doing fine..... Orphanedhawk is her name and she can answer any questions you might have......... Good luck
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