There is a lot of thought when you need a new liver or donate a part of your liver. Like with all medical procedures, there are certain risks and complications. Learn below the pros and cons of living donor liver transplant operation if you’re thinking on this subject.
Liver failure is of two types:
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Acute or sudden liver failure:
Sudden liver failure is the loss of the liver to function properly that occurs in days or weeks.
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Chronic liver failure:
Chronic liver failure is the loss of the liver to function properly that occurs in months or years.
Pros of Living-Donor Liver transplant:
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The liver grows back:
If you’re a living donor, then you must be worrying that removing part of your liver will hurt your overall health. But fortunately, you can lose up to 75% of your liver because it has a tendency to grow back quickly and work just fine when it does.
A part of your liver when removed after the surgery, will reach its normal size by 6-8 weeks or so. The liver is the only organ in the human body that can grow back itself and this is what makes a living donor transplant possible.
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Transplants from living donor go more smoothly:
The body of the receiver tends to take it better when liver from a living donor is received since the liver is only outside for a shorter amount of time than the ones that come from mortal people.
However, the results are the same after a short period of time, irrespective of the fact that the liver is received from a living person or someone who has died.
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You have more control over the process:
Most living liver transplant operations happen between close friends, relatives and family. If you have to receive a liver, the transplant can happen quickly with the help of a known family member or friends compared to waiting for a liver from a dead person. This is an advantage as you can get treated early before you fall sicker from your liver disease.
Getting a liver from a known living person allows you to schedule your surgery at your convenience.
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Donors are covered by insurance:
Generally, the person receiving a new liver covers the expense of a donor in health insurance including investigations, surgery, recovery, and follow-up care. If you’re a donor, then your health insurance company may have to pay for medications, post-surgery care, travel costs to the hospital where the operation takes place.
- It’s a gift of a lifetime:
All over India, there are around 50,000 people waiting to get a new liver. Also, there aren't enough donors from mortal people. If you become a living donor, you may help a person to get back to normalcy in a shorter time rather than waiting on the list. A successful transplant allows a person to lead a new normal life. The liver transplant survival rate is higher when the liver transplant comes from a live donor.
Cons of Living-Donor Liver translate:
Every coin has two sides. If there is an advantage of being a living donor, it comes with certain benefits as well as risks.
Let’s find out below:
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You could have complications:
Donating a part of your liver can be invasive surgery. It takes time to recover. The donor might sometimes get complications such as bleeding, infections, bile leaks or blood clots. You might be at risk of a hernia while being a donor after the transplant. This is very rare, but the part of your liver that’s left after you donate could stop functioning which can be life-threatening.
- Recipients need meds for life:
Whether your liver comes from a living donor or a mortal donor, the new liver is a stranger to your body. You’ll be kept on immunosuppressant medications to fight infection and make your immune system strong so that it doesn't reject the new liver. Although, these medications come with certain side effects such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes. You need to make certain lifestyle changes. You will be required to visit the hospital. You need to avoid alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs.
Part of your routine will be to meet health experts about how to eat healthy and physical activities to boost your health.
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You’ll be sidelined after surgery:
You will be kept in the hospital in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for some time say 10 days. If you’re a living liver donor, you might take time to recover. Donors are usually hospitalized for 2-3 weeks after the surgery and take about 2-3 months to recover.
Whether you’re a donor or a recipient you need to avoid alcohol, recreational drugs, and sports after the transplant.
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You may wake up to pain:
Whether you are a donor or a recipient, you will wake up in pain after the surgery where the doctor makes a cut in the body. It usually is a little more painful for the living donor. Transplant patients have less pain as they are given steroids to prevent rejection of the new liver. Your doctor will give you pain medications but it could take up to 4 weeks before your discomfort goes away. You may also feel fatigued after the surgery but eventually, this will all go away in a period of 2-3 months.
Helping a person in need never goes in vain. You must pledge to become a donor to give a new healthy life to someone. The liver transplant survival rate is 75% for at least five years.
