Liver Transplant
Surgery to replace an unhealthy liver with a healthy liver from another individual is known as a liver transplant. You can either donate your entire liver or just a portion of it. The majority of the time, a healthy liver is donated by a person who has recently passed away.
A healthy person will occasionally give a portion of their liver. A family relative could be a living donor since they are mostly related. Alternatively, it might be a stranger with a compatible blood type who is not connected to you. When a portion of the liver is donated, the remaining liver can still function normally.
The only organ in the body that can regenerate missing or damaged tissue is the liver. After surgery, the donor’s liver will shortly regain its normal size. In a few weeks with ample amount of rest, the portion that you receive as a replacement liver will also enlarge to its typical size.
Other Transplantation Treatments
Causes For A Liver Transplant
You might need a liver transplant if you have end-stage liver illness (chronic liver failure). This is a severe, potentially fatal liver condition. There are numerous liver conditions that can induce it.
End-stage liver disease is frequently brought on by cirrhosis. It is a long-term hepatic condition. When scar tissue takes the place of good liver tissue, it occurs. This prevents the liver from operating normally.
Other diseases that may lead to end-stage liver disease include:
- Acute hepatic necrosis: This is when tissue in the liver dies. Possible reasons include acute infections and reactions to medicine, drugs, or toxins.
- Biliary atresia: A rare disease of the liver and bile ducts that occurs in new-borns.
- Viral hepatitis: Hepatitis B or C are common causes.
- Metabolic diseases: Disorders that change the chemical activity in cells affected by the liver.Metabolic diseases: Disorders that change the chemical activity in cells affected by the liver.
- Primary liver cancers: These are cancerous tumours that start in the liver.
- Autoimmune hepatitis: A redness or swelling (inflammation) of the liver. It happens when your body’s disease-fighting system (immune system) attacks your liver.
Types Of Liver Transplant
Most liver transplants are carried out using livers from deceased donors.
There are three main ways a liver transplant can be carried out:
Deceased Organ Donation
Involves transplanting a liver that has been removed from a person who died recently.
Living Donor Liver Transplant
A section of liver is removed from a living donor; because the liver can regenerate itself, both the transplanted section and the remaining section of the donor's liver are able to regrow into a normal-sized liver.
Split Donation
A liver is removed from a person who died recently and is split into two pieces; each piece is transplanted into a different person, where they will grow to a normal size.
