April Meeting Recap: Living Donor Liver Transplants
At the OTS meeting that was held on April 2nd, we had a fascinating presentation about liver transplant surgery that uses a liver from a living donor. Our speaker was Mr. Casey Connor, a liver transplant social worker at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Living-donor liver transplants are a small portion of all liver transplants, but there is the potential to save many more lives with more living donors. The University of Chicago has been a pioneer in the field of liver transplantation for more than 30 years. In 1985, the first segmented liver transplant was performed at the University of Chicago. Then in 1989, the first successful living-donor liver transplant in the world was performed by UC. In the past year the University of Chicago performed 71 liver transplants, and 4 of those were from living donors.
The transplant team at the University of Chicago is always looking for healthy individuals who are interested in being a living-donor for someone who needs a liver transplant. If someone needs a liver transplant, they can save years off the waitlist by finding a living-donor. The liver is an amazing organ because it can be cut, and then it will regenerate back to almost normal size in 8-12 weeks. The living portion that is transplanted into another patient also grows to normal size over time. Part of one liver can even be used to save 2 different people. Last year, the University of Chicago performed a living-donor liver transplant on an adult, and another part from the same liver was used to save a child.
The most important consideration for any person thinking about becoming a living-donor for a liver transplant is that the blood type and body size must match the person receiving the transplant. Casey Connor also stressed that the organ donor may decide not to donate at any time, and the transplant hospital will respect the wishes of the donor.
A person who wants to donate part of his or her liver must go through a complete medical assessment before they are accepted as a donor. Doctors will evaluate the liver of the donor to make sure it is the right size and shape for the recipient. They will also check the donor’s heart and lungs to make sure that the donor does not have any underlining health conditions. It is not uncommon that the medical evaluation of the donor will reveal a problem, and the transplant team will determine that this person will not be a suitable donor for a liver transplant.
Once a person is accepted as a living donor, a date for the surgery will be set for both the donor and the recipient. Most living donors stay in the hospital after surgery for 5-6 days. Their liver will grow back to normal size in a few weeks.
We had a lively discussion after the presentation by Casey Connor. Several people remarked that they were not aware that a person could donate a portion of his or her liver. We hope that this presentation will help to raise awareness about this very important way to save a life by becoming a living liver donor. To learn more about becoming a living-donor for a liver transplant, including the risks and financial info, please go to this website: www.uchicago.edu.
OTS sincerely thanks Mr. Casey Connor for speaking at the OTS meeting in April.