Liver transplant with a cirrohsis

[12Kanwar_r]

Is it possible to have a liver transplant with cirrohsis and what are the survival changes after transplant? Moreover can someone with cirrohsis get a part of liver from a living donor ?

[AyrshireK]

Answered your question about live donation on the other thread you posted on 12Kanwar_r.

Cirrhosis is generally the reason that people do get liver transplants, it is a treatment option when the liver is failing. In the UK there is always a very thorough transplant assessment which really fully assesses the patient to judge their level of need based on symptoms and the functioning of the liver. If transplant is indicated they also have to assess whether the patient is actually well enough to undergo the operation which can be 12 hours long in some cases PLUS the lengthy recovery period. It is a very full on assessment where the full body is assessed to check that lungs, heart and respiratory & circulatory systems are healthy enough to enable the patient to survive the operation. Patients also have their weight monitored to make sure they have enough 'reserves' to last them through the post-op period.

In the UK there are strict guidelines as to when people can and can't be listed, there is a minimum 'score' based on a calculation looking at various blood tests plus patients symptoms are taken into account. In some cases a patient might be deemed too poorly and the risks would be too great, in some they have ongoing drug or alcohol issues and this is a contraindication in the UK and people have to prove their abstinence, other health conditions might rule a patient out too such as extra hepatic cancers or liver cancers which are too large or too numerous, serious heart or lung conditions which would mean the patient wasn't fit enough to survive the operation. As I say there are strict guidelines which each transplant centre has to stick to.

Whilst transplant is a wonderful operation and in some cases leads to people having a thoroughly new and renewed life there are absolutely no guarantees with it. Some people end up having more than one transplant, some people don't see the 'happy ever after' post-transplant and like all major operations some folks don't get through.

In the UK it is seen as a life saving operation and owing to the shortage of donor organs, the most poorly on any hospitals list will always get first chance at any liver. Some folks wait only hours or days for their call whilst others wait years.

My hubby was listed for 10 months before being eventually delisted as his blood results improved taking him out of the qualifying criteria and so we return to the watch and wait situation with regular monitoring.

The British Liver Trust has a couple of pages about liver transplantation at:- britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

and

britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

These will probably be more along the lines of the UK system which may or may not differ greatly from those in Sweden but they will give you some further guidance.

Wishing you all the best, Katie

[andy-g]

Hi, It is certainly possible to have a transplant with cirrhosis if your consultant thinks you need it. But there is an assessment process to go through should this be the case .Depending on the cause of the cirrhosis there are criteria to be met.In my case I was placed on the waiting list when I was no longer able to tolerate medication and a transplant was my only hope.My cirrhosis was due to hep b.My advice is whatever your doctors tell you to do make sure you do it. I wish you good luck.I now have a new liver. So it certainly can happen.

[sheri44 in reply to andy-g]

like Andy i had cirrhosis bad & a transplant was the only option. Katie has given great advice & links above. Good luck with everything

[Artyjoan]

I lived, unknowingly, with AIH for at least five years in young adulthood. By the time it was diagnosed, I had cirrhosis and my only hope was a transplant. I was otherwise fit, and fit enough for the op and convalescence. Clearly, though I was deemed urgent enough to go to / very near the top of the list as I got a donor liver within hours. I'm now in my 28th year post-transplant. Good luck with everything.