Definition & Facts
A liver transplant is surgery to remove your diseased or injured liver and replace it with a healthy liver from another person, called a donor. If your liver stops working properly, called liver failure, a liver transplant can save your life.
Transplant Process
Before a liver transplant, you’ll be referred to a transplant center, evaluated by a transplant team, and if approved, placed on the national waiting list for a deceased donor. If you have a living donor, the transplant center won’t place you on the national waiting list and will schedule your surgery.
Transplant Surgery
Doctors perform liver transplant surgery by removing your liver and replacing it with a donor’s liver. Liver transplant surgery can take up to 12 hours or longer. For a deceased donor transplant, surgery starts when the donor liver arrives at the hospital.
Living with a Liver Transplant
After a liver transplant, you will see your doctor often to make sure your new liver is working properly. You will have regular blood tests to check for signs of organ rejection and take medicines the rest of your life to prevent organ rejection.
Related Conditions & Diseases
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