5 things to know about being a living liver donor

About 1 in 5 patients who are on the national waiting list for a liver transplant dies or becomes too sick before an organ becomes available.

With an ever- growing need for organs, Mayo Clinic is working to increase awareness about living liver donation for transplantation.

The number of living donor liver transplants doubled last year, now accounting for about 6% of all liver transplants nationwide, says Timucin Taner, M. D., Ph. D., a Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon and surgical director of liver transplantation.

A liver transplant from a living donor is a surgical procedure where a portion of the liver from a healthy living person is removed and placed into someone whose liver no longer works properly.

Here are five things to know about being a living liver donor:

■ Thousands of people are waiting for a lifesaving liver transplant. “About 12,000 to 13,000 people are on the liver transplant waiting list, which means about 2,500 people who are on the list each year will either die or become too sick while waiting for a liver transplant,” Taner says.

The donated liver regenerates itself in a matter of weeks. Liver tissue regenerates in the donor and recipient. Up to 70% of the donor liver can be removed for transplantation, and the liver regenerates in the donor and recipient to nearly full size in about three to four weeks.

■ Outcomes are generally better for recipients who receive a liver froma livingdonor. “The incidence of technical issues during surgery can be somewhat higher for the recipient because it’s more difficult to transplant a partial organ. There can be increased risk of bile duct complications and arterial thromboses,” says Taner. “But in living donor liver transplantation, the transplant typically occurs before the recipient becomes dangerously ill awaiting transplant, which improves the outcome.”

■ Recovery time for living liver donors can take four to six weeks. Potential liver donors must be in good physical health. Donors are usually under 60. People interested in donating undergo blood tests to determine if their blood and tissue types are compatible with the organ recipient.

■ You do not have to be related to a patient to donate a liver. Though living donors traditionally have been people who know the recipient, such as a family member or friend, it is not required.