Becoming a living liver donor
Who can be a living liver donor?
To be a living donor, you must:
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Be an adult between ages 18-60
and able to make an informed decision -
Be in good physical and mental health
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Understand the risks and benefits of living donation
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Decide for yourself if living donation is right for you
As a potential liver donor, you will work with a transplant center throughout the donation process. This is a healthcare facility dedicated to transplant care.
The transplant center staff will need a lot of information about you to make sure you are healthy enough to donate in order to make the final decision. Certain health issues may cause the transplant center staff not to approve you to donate an organ. This is for your health and safety. Different transplant centers may have different criteria, but here are some examples of such health issues:
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Uncontrolled high blood pressure
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Untreated psychiatric (mental health) condition
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Cancer
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Diabetes
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Certain infections
If you are not approved at one transplant center, you may be able to try other centers. And sometimes, the transplant team may ask you to work on certain health issues, such as to quit smoking, and come back in 3-6 months to try again. They can refer you to resources to help with these health issues.
Did you know?
After a liver transplant, the liver regrows to full size.
Your liver is the only internal organ in your body that can regrow itself if a part is removed or transplanted. This is called regeneration. This is true for both the donor and recipient.
When someone donates or receives a part of a liver, it regenerates, or regrows:
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Cells in the liver (called hepatocytes) grow larger and make copies of themselves to regrow the liver.
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It will grow back to its full size, or close to its full size, 2-3 months after transplant surgery.
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After surgery, doctors check how well the liver is regenerating and working.
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Regenerated livers grow back to full function and usually work just as well as a full liver.
