Liver Transplantation: When and Why It Is Done

The liver is the largest organ inside the body. It helps digest food, stores energy and removes poisons, and no one can live without a working liver. When a liver fails and other treatment can no longer keep it working, doctors may place the patient on a waiting list for a liver transplant.

The operation

In a liver transplant, the surgeon removes the diseased liver and puts a healthy one in its place. Most transplanted livers come from donors who have died. Sometimes the donor is living: a healthy person gives part of their liver to a specific patient.

Why people need one

• In adults, the most common reason is cirrhosis, scarring of the liver caused by injury or long-term disease.
• In children, the most common reason is biliary atresia, a disease of the bile ducts.

Life after a transplant

A transplant is not the end of treatment. People who receive a new liver must take medicines for the rest of their lives to keep their body from rejecting it.

Sources

• MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Liver Transplantation" (summary from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases): https://medlineplus.gov/livertransplantation.html