Regarding liver being donated by family member

[Jahida]

Hello everyone,

I am not sure if I am allowed to post this but a genuine question. I have a relative in another country who sadly was diagnosed with liver cancer which has spread to all of his liver. His family are looking into going to another country where they will take some part of another family's liver to transplant.

Is this a kind of treatment? I cannot remember but was just wondering if anyone can shed some light as it would be horrible for them to go somewhere out of desperation and put themselves at risk.

Thank you

[AyrshireK]

Whilst live liver transplantation is a procedure that happens and does so with some regularity in some other countries. It also happens here in the UK through the NHS normal listing procedure.

However, in the UK a person would not be considered for transplant due to liver cancer if the cancer had spread out with certain parameters .

The listing criteria

at present are:

Single tumour<5cm diameter or

Up to 5 tumours all < 3cm or

Single tumour between 5 and 7cm with no evidence of progression (<20% volume

increase) over a six month period. Locoregional therapy or chemotherapy may be

given at this time.

AFP <1000 U/l

If the tumours are too numerous or too widespread there is a very real danger that the cancer will seed and spread throughout the body during the surgery to do transplant and if this were to happen then there would be little chance of the patient putting up much of a fight against the cancer when their immune system is suppressed post transplant.

There are a great many considerations to look into before your family members should as you say spend lots of money, risk health etc. Transplant may not be viable if the cancer is as widespread as you describe.

Katie

[Jahida in reply to AyrshireK]

Thank you so much. The latest I have heard is that he has cirrhosis. Does cancer cause this? They've been given oral chemo tablets.

Rather than a full transplant, one of their children is planning to donate part of their liver and this will be undertaken in another country. I have no idea how all this will work to be honest. I passed them the details for British liver Trust and perhaps to phone and check if they can pass their reports privately for a consultant to have a look.

Thank you so much!

[AyrshireK in reply to Jahida]

Cirrhosis is damaged liver tissue and any patient with a cirrhosis diagnosis has to have 6 monthly scans because having cirrhosis can provide a breeding ground for liver cancers. In the UK to be eligible for transplant the patient has to go through a series of rigorous tests, the potential donor like wise as it is a major operation for them too and sadly not all patients are able to have a live/split liver donation - is this family member in the UK? As I said earlier the risk of seeding liver cancer is huge in the transplant operation hence the reasons for the strict criteria on transplanting with cancer.

Katie

[CarpeDiem11 in reply to Jahida]

You also need to bear in mind that the person considering donating needs to be a match and won't necessarily be a match. In addition to this, they are undertaking a very serious operation and it could actually cause problems for them, which is why they will need to undergo extensive health checks too probably. Sorry to sound like a doom merchant, but there are a lof of things to consider. It will need a full and frank discussion of such things (have they for instance considered how they would feel if the transplant is unsuccessful?).

I think it is amazing that your relative's family can be so selfless and thoughtful, but it is not an easy undertaking (I'm sure they realise that). I really wish you and your relatives all the very best in this very difficult time.