Also called: Also called: Hepatic transplantation
Your liver helps fight infections and cleans your blood. It also helps digest food and stores energy for when you need it. You cannot live without a liver that works. If your liver fails, your doctor may put you on a waiting list for a liver transplant. Doctors do liver transplants when other treatments cannot keep a damaged liver working.
During a liver transplantation, the surgeon removes the diseased liver and replaces it with a healthy one. Most transplant livers come from a donor who has died. Sometimes a healthy person donates part of his or her liver for a specific patient. In this case the donor is called a living donor. The most common reason for transplantation in adults is cirrhosis. This is a disease in which healthy liver cells are killed and replaced with scar tissue. The most common reason in children is biliary atresia, a disease of the bile ducts.
People who have transplants must take drugs for the rest of their lives to keep their bodies from rejecting their new livers.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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JAMA Patient Page: Liver Transplantation(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/295/18/2208.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/295/18/2208/DC1/1
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What I Need to Know about Liver Transplantation
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/livertransplant_ez/
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Getting a New Liver: Facts about Liver Transplants(American Society of Transplantation) - Large PDF file - http://www.a-s-t.org/files/pdf/patient_education/english/AST-EducBro-NewLiver-E.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.a-s-t.org/files/pdf/patient_education/spanish/AST-EducBro-NewLiver-S.pdf
- Liver Transplant(American Liver Foundation) - http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/transplant/
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Liver Transplantation(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/livertransplant/
- Liver Transplant Patients at Higher Cancer Risk(10/10/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70318.html
- Gene Mutation Tied to Transplant Rejection in Kids(10/08/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70188.html
- Donor's Age Not Linked to Poor Outcomes in Liver Transplants(07/22/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67248.html
- Medicines for Keeping Your New Liver Healthy(American Society of Transplantation) - http://www.a-s-t.org/files/pdf/patient_education/english/AST-EdBroLIVERMED-ENG.pdf
- Health Maintenance(American Society of Transplantation) - http://www.healthytransplant.com/index.php?q=health_maintenance
- Lab Tests for Measuring Organ Function(American Society of Transplantation) - http://www.healthytransplant.com/index.php?q=health_maintenance/caring_for_your_new_organ/lab_tests_for_measuring_organ_function
- During the Transplant: Liver(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.transplantliving.org/duringthetransplant/liver.aspx
- Infection and Malignancy(American Society of Transplantation) - http://www.healthytransplant.com/index.php?q=infection_and_malignancy
- Liver Transplant: Treating End-Stage Liver Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/liver-transplant/DG00037/METHOD=print
- Questions and Answers for Patients and Families about Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD)(United Network for Organ Sharing) - Links to PDF - http://www.unos.org/SharedContentDocuments/MELD_PELD.pdf
- Organ Facts: Liver(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.transplantliving.org/beforethetransplant/organfacts/liver.aspx
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Transplantation(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=%22liver+transplantation%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Sustained clearance of serum hepatitis C virus-RNA independently predicts long-term... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18698252&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Efficacy of interferon based antiviral therapy for recurrent hepatitis C... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18698245&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Current status of hepatic transplantation. Anatomical basis for liver transplantation. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18692622&tool=MedlinePlus
- Liver Transplantation -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=liver+transplantation[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Transplant Glossary(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.transplantliving.org/Community/glossary.aspx
- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases: Physician Referral Service(American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases) - http://publish.aasld.org/yourliver/Pages/PhysicianReferralService.aspx
- United Network for Organ Sharing: Member Directory(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.unos.org/members/search.asp
- American Liver Foundation - http://www.liverfoundation.org/
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National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
- Fast Facts about Transplants(Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients) - http://www.ustransplant.org/csr/current/fastfacts.aspx
- Organ Datasource: Liver Center Data Profile(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.optn.org/organDatasource/stateData.asp?type=state&mqsd=1&display=Liver
- Transplant Statistics: National Reports(Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients) - http://www.ustransplant.org/csr/current/nats.aspx
- Liver Transplantation (in Children)(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1243/mainpageS1243P0.html
- Cirrhosis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cirrhosis.html
- Hepatitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hepatitis.html
- Liver Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/liverdiseases.html
- Organ Transplantation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/organtransplantation.html
- Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
- Transplantation and Donation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/transplantationanddonation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Liver Transplantation is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/