I have 5 adult children and a husband who is described as an athlete in terms of physical fitness all willing to be living donors, I’ve had messages from a friend who is also willing to be a donor. I know the risks.
Yesterday I found out I maybe delisted as I have gone outside of tumour number criteria. I have HCC
My family have been begging me to get a transplant privately but I would never put any of them at risk but now as a last resort I’m considering it.
Please don’t list why it is unethical or risky as I’ve done so much research. Any genuine advice re private transplant abroad or at home would be appreciated.
lisa
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Zechariah123
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There is sadly no route to private liver transplant in the UK - all transplants are done under the NHS and that means surgeons will only operate if someone is listed under the traditional route and sadly that means the restrictions on HCC tumour numbers and sizes owing to the risk of seeding tumours around an immune suppressed body which can lead to cancer elsewhere in the body.
Obviously your live donors need to match you by blood type and body/organ size - there are countries that might offer you the chance of transplant via the live donor route BUT it will be hugely expensive PLUS you then still have to rely on NHS follow up for supporting your transplant going forward.
I am not sure we would be allowed to discuss overseas transplant here. I do know that India comes up a bit BUT how you go about getting NHS support after a foreign transplant would be a dilemma.
"Obviously your live donors need to match you by blood type " no entirely true. RH factor is irrelevant. ABO blood group system is the best to match however in case of urgent case is performed with good output (more immunosuppressive drugs usually) - this criteria is different amongst countries (sometimes even planned transplant is done with different blood AB0 group - even A donor 0 recipient).
Generally is best situation compared to kidney for example.
So this is the situation in UK I think. But please ask about urgent/unplanned situation. Anyway as I wrote every country has its own criteria. But from medical point of view is not absolute contraindication.
"You don't have to have the exact blood type as the person who needs a new liver, but you need to be what's called "compatible." This can be figured out with a simple blood test. Here's how it works:
If you have Type O blood, you are a "universal donor" and can donate to anyone (although Type O liver recipients can only get organs from people who are also Type O).
If you are Type A, you can donate to those who are also Type A as well as Type AB.
Type B blood types can donate to other Type Bs and to Type ABs.
Type AB people can donate to those with that same blood type.
Your Rh factor (whether your blood type is "positive" or "negative") doesn't play a role."
I have no idea whether you can go abroad and have a transplant done privately, assuming one of your live donors is a match.
I was going to say that facility isn't available in the UK to my knowledge, but others have already said that. However, if its a relative and live donor then i would actually ask that question of your consultant. Its not unethical at all, but they may be able to better explain the reasons why in your case it may or may not be possible. Yours is a particularly specific circumstance afterall.
All I would say is, going private wouldn't be just about the procedure. With a transplant there is a lifetime of after care too. I suspect all that may have to be private also, including medication, and that will be as costly, probably more so, than the procedure itself. Again though, ask this of your consultant.
You can't get a liver transplant privately anywhere. Sure, you might have to pay abroad but the same process is involved and then for any medical treatment you would need ongoing care for the rest of your life. Plus you run the risk in some countries that people are actively involved in harvesting and selling organs illegally, hell it's even happening here in the UK.Sadly you'll need to wait just like everybody else if you want to be safe.
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