Learn about the liver and liver transplants
What is the liver?
The liver is a large organ in your upper belly area, above your stomach. Its main job is to remove waste and toxins (harmful substances) from your blood.
Your liver does many other important jobs, such as to:
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Help your body digest food and turn it into energy your body can use
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Store energy from food so your body can use it later
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Make certain blood cells and keep the amounts of different blood cells in balance
People cannot live without a working liver. If a person’s liver stops working, they need a liver transplant to live.
Why does the liver stop working?
People who have liver failure need a liver transplant. In liver failure, a person’s liver can no longer do its many jobs to keep them alive and healthy.
What causes liver failure?
Liver failure can happen suddenly or slowly over time:
Acute liver failure or injury
When someone’s liver fails suddenly, it happens over days or weeks. This is called acute liver failure. It is a medical emergency. Acute liver failure can be caused by different things, including:
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Taking too much of certain prescription or over-the-counter medicines, or of some street drugs
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Ingesting a poisonous substance
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An autoimmune disease
(when a person’s immune system attacks their own body)
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Chronic liver failure
When someone’s liver fails slowly over time, it is called chronic liver failure and leads to end-stage liver disease. This happens slowly over years from a disease or health condition that damages the liver. The damage is so severe that the liver stops working. This can be caused by different things, including:
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Infection by hepatitis viruses
(hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E) -
Diabetes
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Obesity (being very overweight)
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Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long period of time – 2 or more drinks per day for men and 1 or more drinks per day for women, over 5-10 years. This is called alcohol-associated liver disease. (Though, heavy binge drinking can also cause acute liver failure.)
People with a family history of liver disease may have a higher chance of liver disease and liver failure.