A history of liver transplantation and current statistics

Liver TransplantationTransplantation of the liver was first performed in 1963.

Today, the UK performs approximately 600 - 700 liver transplants a year; the 10,000th operation took place in July 2004. There are seven transplant units in the UK, six in England and one in Scotland. Currently, the waiting time for low-risk patients in the UK is 6 - 12 months.

UK Transplant estimate:

In 2005/6 (financial year) there were 595 liver transplants in the UK. In the UK and Ireland combined there were 649.

Between 2000 and 2005 there were:
4216 Liver only transplants

61 Liver and Kidney

1 Heart, Lung and Liver transplant

3 Liver and pancreas transplants

1 Heart and liver transplant

Alcohol was the highest cause for a liver transplant with 652 transplants
(following a standard six months abstinence period)

Hepatitis C was the second highest with 586 transplants

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis was the third highest with 434 transplants

The average survival for all transplants at one year was approximately 88%, though this varies between different patients, with different diseases.