Questions people ask
Where do the donor organs come from?
Most donor organs are from people who decide that they want to donate their organs after they die.
How am I matched up?
You will be matched to a donor liver by blood group, size of the liver and the urgency of your situation.
How long will I have to wait?
The waiting time can be anything from a few months to over a year.
Can I donate my organs?
At the moment, if you have had a liver transplant, you will not be able to donate your organs but the law is likely to change soon. If you would like to donate organs, you should make your wishes known in case of a change in the law.
I've heard that sometimes a donor liver can be used in two transplants
Sometimes a donor liver can be split between two donors. One part will go to an adult (the right lobe) and a smaller section (left lobe) will be given to a child. After being transplanted, the donor liver will grow to its normal size.
Can a living person give part of their liver for transplant?
It is now possible to take part of the liver from a living person and transplant it into another. This is known as ‘Live donor liver transplantation’.
The procedure has usually involved an adult donor giving part of the left lobe of their liver to a child. More recently a procedure in which the adult donor gives the right lobe of their liver to another adult has become available in most countries in the world.
Because the liver has a unique ability to regenerate (grow back) when part of it is removed, a living donor’s liver will grow back to almost its normal size after recovery from surgery.
In the UK living donor liver transplantation for children is a well-established operation. It carries a low risk to the donor (about one death in 1000) and has been practiced for many years at King’s College Hospital in London. It is still unclear what the take-up will be for adult-to-adult living donation where this risk increases to about one in 200.
The Department of Health in Scotland gave permission in 2006 for adult living donation to be
performed. This is likely to follow in England where NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has advised that the procedure can be used for adults within the NHS.
Complementary and alternative medicines
Many complementary and alternative medicines are available that may ease the symptoms of liver disease. But certain medications used in non-liver related disease can damage the liver. At present, healthcare professionals are not clear on the role and place of some therapies in managing liver disease. More research needs to be done on the use of these therapies. You may wish to discuss the use of these therapies with your doctor.
Acute – a short sharp illness that may be severe but from which most people will recover in a few weeks without lasting effects.
Ascites – accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity which surrounds the bowel, leading to enlarged, swollen and tender abdomen.
Autoimmune disease – a type of disease where the body's defences attack another part of the body.
Bile – a yellow/green fluid made by the liver to help digest foods containing fat and cholesterol.
Bile ducts – the tubes linking your liver to your gut (also known as your intestine or bowel). The bile ducts carry bile from your liver to your gut.
Biliary – anything to do with the bile duct or bile.
Bowel – another name for the intestine or gut that runs from the stomach to the anus.
Chronic – an illness that lasts a long time (more than six months), possibly for the rest of a person's life.
Cirrhosis – severe scarring and hardening of the liver brought on by long-term and continuous damage. Scarring, known as fibrosis, can take many years to develop and may do so without warning signals. In the end the liver becomes too scarred and damaged to work, resulting in total liver failure.
Immunosuppressant – a drug that dampens down the body's defences (immune system).
Usually used after an organ transplant to stop the body rejecting the donor organ.
Inflammation – the body's protective reaction to injury, involving swelling, pain, redness and heat.
Jaundice – yellowing of the skin and eyes due to the liver's failure to remove a substance known as bilirubin from the blood.
Lobe – a major part of an organ.
Varices – veins in the stomach which can sometimes bleed.