Partial liver transplant

[JDA69]

Has anyone had a discussion with their consultant about partial liver transplant from a living donor? My husband has end stage liver disease and although we have read lots of information on liver transplants I can't see anything specifically about living donors. Any advice would be appreciated.

[AyrshireK]

To receive a live liver transplant (in the UK) the patient has to be listed via the normal channels and be waiting for a deceased donor organ ........ it's not a short cut to getting a transplant. Surgeons will always prefer to go for a deceased donor over putting a perfectly healthy patient through a very, very risky procedure although it is possible.

Not every waiting patient though is suitable for a live donor liver (or split deceased donor liver) it depends on the size of the patient and their underlying illness as to whether they could cope with the initial reduced size of a partial liver.

In the UK it was Edinburgh (Scottish Liver Transplant Unit) which pioneered live transplant and during transplant assessment it was discussed with us in some detail as my small hubby was deemed a suitable candidate for a live transplant. We ruled it out as there wasn't a suitable close relative able to donate and hubby wouldn't let me be assessed due to the many 'What if?' scenarios plus it would have put me out of action for a good few months too.

Edinburgh produce a guide about live donation and it is available online at :- services.nhslothian.scot/sc... It goes into the 'ins & outs', assessment protocols and much more.

Hope it is off some use.

Katie

[JDA69 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thank you Katie for your response, it's really useful and I will take a look at the link you provided. It's good to get a perspective from someone who has already been through this so I can manage expectations here with our family. Thanks again!

[Hidden in reply to JDA69]

I’ve read that familiar lobe transplants are becoming the preferred and the survival rates are near 100% also due to genetic closeness your post medication is a lot less.... so at least one reason to ‘keep in’ with ones family ha!

Barry

[Hidden]

Hi JDA

It is not a common form of liver transplant and not all liver transplant units will carry out such an operation but do encourage your husband to talk to his medical team about it.

NHS Organ Donation have some information:

organdonation.nhs.uk/about-...

nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows....

Best wishes