A Definitive Guide to Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Introduction

The liver disease accounts for approximately 2 million deaths annually in this busy world. Cirrhosis and liver cancer is the most common reasons for a person's death and accounts for about 3.5% of deaths worldwide. Even after all these complications, Liver transplantation remains the 2nd most common solid organ transplantation. However, less than 10% of the global transplantation needs are met at this stage. Before knowing much about donor liver transplantation, let's discuss why it is needed and its benefits.

Why Liver Transplant is Done?

Liver transplantation is a medical surgery to remove the injured or diseased liver to replace it with a healthy liver from another person having a healthy liver, called a donor. Thus, an immediate liver transplant is needed to save your life when your liver stops working properly. 

There are many reasons why people need a liver donation. The most reasons for liver failure are stated below:

• Cancers starting in the liver combined with cirrhosis
• Cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C
• Alcoholic liver disease
• Fatty Liver disease (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)
• Biliary Atresia
• Familial hypercholesterolemia

In children, Biliary Atresia is the most common cause of liver failure. Apart from this, there are so many reasons for acute liver failure among adults apart from the above diseases. The other reasons that might be a reason for critical liver failures are listed below:

• Genetic disorders
• Toxics
• Bad reactions to prescription medicines, herbal medicines, and illegal drugs
• Autoimmune diseases
• Genetic disorders

How do you match a liver donor?

Suppose you are finding a donor for your liver transplantation. In that case, you must know that for a living donor candidate to be eligible for liver donation, they must meet a few criteria. They are:

• The first and most important thing is the blood groups should be compatible with the recipient's blood group. It means that both their blood groups should be in sync. Remember, Rh (the positive or negative elements of the blood type) has nothing to do with compatibility.
• For a living donor liver transplant, the donor's age must fall between 18-55 years. Older donors usually have more health complications than young donors; thus, they don't qualify for a healthy liver donation. 
• A donor's ideal Body Mass Index (BMI) must be less than 30 and not be obese or overweight. 
• The donor should also pass the liver fat estimation and other liver function tests. 
• The calculated Liver volumes must pass the recipient's requirements, and the donor's liver must be adequate for the remaining life of the recipient to resume regular body functioning. 
• Also, the donor liver must pass the tests for exposure to any transmittable viruses. 

Benefits of Liver Donation

As a donor, you have some benefits that you should consider before donating your liver. They are as follows:

• The liver is the only organ that can regrow lost tissue and regenerate it. So, your liver starts functioning normally just 2-4 weeks after the liver transplantation surgery. And right after two weeks, you will see that the size of your liver is back to normal. 

• People getting a liver transplant from a living donor have a higher survival rate than those getting the liver from a donor who has died. This is because living donors are usually in better condition than the deceased ones at the time of the surgery.

• The insurance company of the recipient pays for the entire process of donation. This includes all the pre-transplant evaluations, in-hospital expenses, surgery, recovery, and follow-up care. 

• By becoming a liver donor for someone, you help that person by saving their precious life. Agreeing to a living donor liver transplant increases the likelihood of successful liver transplantation. Also, you allow another wait-listed patient because your donation vacates the recipient's spot on the list for the next person.

For the recipient, there are so many benefits after liver transplantation. Thus, to cure many critical liver diseases through a liver transplant. It includes damage caused to the liver due to Hemochromatosis, Chronic Hepatitis, Cirrhosis, Sclerosing, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, biliary atresia, Cholangitis, and excessive alcoholism. 

How much does Liver Donation cost in India? 

On average, the liver donation price in India ranges between INR 20 Lakh and INR 30 Lakhs. This transplantation cost is comparatively less compared to the costs of the same treatment in other developed countries. 

There may be a variation of +/- 5% in the prices of donor liver transplantation which depends on various factors like the kind of hospital, the patient's health conditions, post-treatment essentials, medical reports, duration of treatment, and the type of liver transplant surgery one requires.  

Even after including all the extra costs, India has proven to give low-cost quality treatment for liver transplant surgeries. There are so many hospitals that can provide you with the best services at affordable rates. And the quality of service for Liver transplantation is also quite good in India. 

Where can you find a living donor for a liver transplant?

Suppose you want more information about a liver transplant or are interested in finding a living donor for yourself. You can freely contact the help service at Vedanta Hospital. You can also read forums and blogs or visit government websites like NOTTO. However, as you know, only some information on the internet is accurate enough to proceed further with such an important decision in your life. To double-check the credibility, you can always reach out to your nearest donor Liver Transplantation Hospitals for their best services. 

Conclusion 

If you are going through some liver problems, there are tools available online that act as reliable prediction tools, like liver disease scoring systems. Some of the most popular tools are models for Child-Turcotte-Pugh and End-Stage Liver Disease. But, as told earlier, the internet cannot help you in every way from the start till the end. So, you can always visit Medanta Hospital for their donor Liver transplantation services. Known for their global standards, the doctors at Medanta Hospital are well-known for their experience and track record of success. People looking for a successful quality liver transplant should approach this hospital for utmost care and support.