Liver Facts
The liver is a large organ located in the abdomen. The liver has several important jobs that help keep our bodies healthy. It stores energy, makes proteins, fights infections, cleans toxins and alcohol from the blood, and produces bile. Bile is a liquid that is used by the intestines to break down fats into smaller droplets so they can be digested. The body cannot survive without a healthy liver.
Why do people need liver transplants?
There are many diseases and disorders that can damage the liver including birth defects and damage from blood clots. Chronic liver infections such as hepatitis B or C can cause serious liver damage. Drinking large amounts of alcohol or using other drugs can cause scarring if the liver, which is called cirrhosis.
When liver tissue becomes scarred, it loses the ability to function. This can cause a variety of serious health symptoms including:
• Easy bleeding including nosebleeds and bruises under the skin
• Swelling of the belly or legs
• High blood pressure in the veins around the liver
• Enlarged veins in the stomach and the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach (esophagus)
• Kidney failure
• Extra sensitivity to medications
About 5 percent of people who have cirrhosis of the liver develop liver cancer. When the liver is no longer able to function, a liver transplant may be necessary to save the life of the patient.
The need for liver donations
Patients who need a liver transplant have their names placed on the national waiting list. The average waiting time to get a liver is approximately 796 days, or just over 2 years. When a liver becomes available, doctors from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) try to match the liver with the patient who has the greatest need and who has a matching tissue type. If a liver is transplanted that is not a match for the recipient, the odds are good that the patient’s body will reject the organ and the transplant will fail. Even when the tissue match is good, the recipient will need to take medications to prevent rejection for the rest of his or her life. Because the liver can stay healthy for up to 24 hours outside the body, the UNOS team is not limited to looking at recipients who live in the same geographic region.
Liver donations save lives
Many liver transplants come from the bodies of people who have died. But the supply of livers is not enough to keep up with the demand. As of September 1st, 4,243 patients have received liver transplants in 2010, but over 16,000 are still on the waiting list. Each year, approximately 2,000 people die while waiting for a liver to become available.
The liver is the only organ in the body that can re-grow a portion that has been removed. This means that one donated liver from a cadaver can be split between two recipients. It also means that a healthy living donor can give a portion of a his or her liver to another person. A close relative is often the best tissue match for any organ transplant. This method of living donation has increased the number of livers that are available so more lives can be saved.
To find out more about how you can be an organ donor, visit the Donate Life America website.
Sources:
OrganDonor.gov
Transplant Living
American Liver Foundation
National Institutes of Helath Medline Plus: Liver Diseases
UNOS
National Institutes of Health Medline Plus: Cirrhosis