Benefits of receiving a liver from a living donor
When you are told that you need a liver transplant, speaking to family and friends about possible living donor liver transplantation can be difficult. People might think that waiting for a liver from a deceased donor is the better option, rather than have someone close to you go through an operation.
It is important to know the facts – a liver from a living donor typically offers better outcomes and family and friends may not know this. It is important that they do so that they can make an informed choice about what they want to do and make the best decision for themselves as well as for you.
Why consider living donor liver transplantation?
We know that liver transplantation is a very good treatment for people with liver failure. Ideally, everyone who is suitable for liver transplantation would receive a transplant but there are not enough organs for everyone to have the transplant they need at the right time.
In the UK, at any time, there are at least 750 people waiting for a liver transplant, and in recent years the waiting list has been growing. Patients may have to wait for more than a year for a liver to become available and waiting times are getting longer. As a result, approximately 1 in 10 people who are waiting either die before an organ becomes available or are removed from the transplant list because they become too sick to survive the operation.
Living donation can help to meet the need and allow liver transplantation to be offered at an earlier stage. It also makes more deceased donor livers available to other patients on the list who do not have a living donor of their own.
What are the outcomes like after living donor liver transplantation?
Living donor liver transplantation is carried out in many countries, including the UK, for over 20 years and is a very successful, well-established option for transplant.
Starting the assessment of a living donor early means that the transplant can be carefully planned for when the recipient is best placed to undergo the operation itself. There are other advantages too – the living donor is carefully assessed so that we know it is as safe as possible for them to donate, and the recipient knows exactly what they can expect from the liver they will receive.
The operations are planned so there is a very short time that the liver is outside the human body. Overall, this means that a liver from a living donor tends to be the best quality. This means that long-term outcomes after living donor liver transplantation are excellent. In the UK, the outcomes at 1, 5, and 10-years are equivalent to receiving a liver from a deceased donor.
I worry about asking someone I know to have an operation they don’t need to have to benefit me
This is entirely to be expected and the transplant teams are very aware of this. The risks to donors are relatively low, but every donor undergoes a thorough assessment to check that it is safe to donate and that they are clear about any individual risk to them.
It can help to speak to people who have already donated and those who have received a liver from a living donor. It is important to remember that people who volunteer to donate really want to get the best possible outcome for the recipient. They may also take comfort in knowing that they have done everything possible to help them. Having all of the facts can help everyone to come to the best decision for them.
