Liver
Living Donor Liver Transplant
The number of patients awaiting liver transplant has grown dramatically while the supply of donor livers has not. This has led to longer waiting times, progressive loss of health for those on the waiting lists and a potential increase in the number of patients who die while waiting for a liver transplant. The continued shortage of deceased donor livers for adults has led to living donor liver transplants from adults to adults.
The anatomy of the liver allows it to be divided and a portion transplanted into another individual. The liver has the unique ability to grow and regenerate after a segment is removed. Using living people as a source for donor organs began with kidney transplantation. In the late 1980s, living donation was expanded to include liver transplantation, at first just for children. In the 1990s, adult living donor transplantation was introduced. The Penn Transplant Institute performed its first adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant in 1999.
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Penn Transplant Institute’s Living Donor program benefits donors and recipients by:
- Reducing the waiting period for a transplant.
- Eliminating the time between procurement of the organ (time the liver is outside the body) and transplantation.
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Need an appointment? Request one online 24 hours/day, 7 days/week or call 800-789-PENN (7366) to speak to a referral counselor. |
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