What is Living-Related Donor Liver Transplantation?
Living-related donor liver transplantation is an option for some families. A living-related donor transplant allows an adult donor to voluntarily give permission to remove a portion of his or her liver to give to a child. (The donor operation itself is long and has potential risks for a normal healthy adult.)
A major benefit to living-related donor transplantation is timing. A child waiting for a liver transplant does not have to be placed on a waiting list until a good liver match becomes available; however, not all relatives are good matches with the child. Doctors decide -- based on blood type, size and other donor health issues -- whether the child and the donor are good candidates for a living-related donor transplant.
In general, adults interested in donating a part of their liver need to be at least four times and no more than ten times as big as their child. For example, for a child who weighs 12 pounds, a potential adult donor must weigh under 120 pounds. Living-related donors must meet these standards:
- Blood type compatible between patient and donor
- No current infections
- Blood tests within normal limits
- Normal medical history and physical exam as determined by an adult gastroenterologist
- Normal chest X-ray
- Normal electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Normal computerized tomography (CT) scan of the liver to show proper liver size
- Normal blood flow to and from the liver, as assessed by an angiogram
Potential living-related liver donors who meet these standards meet with the liver transplant surgeon and other family members to discuss the risks and benefits of the surgery. In emergency cases, the donor tests can be done quickly.
The transplant operation for the adult donor takes place at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in the operating room next door to the transplant operating room.
The donor recovers in the same intensive care unit and step-down unit as the recipient. The donor usually is hospitalized five to seven days, depending upon his or her post-operative recovery.
After going home, the donor usually has restrictions regarding work and activity for six weeks after the transplant.
Last updated: July 2005
