You don't have to have the exact blood type as the person who needs a new liver, but you need to be what's called "compatible." This can be figured out with a simple blood test.
You must be either the same blood type as your recipient or blood type "O." Your Rh factor – positive (+) or negative (-) – does not affect your suitability to donate.
You may be disqualified from having a liver transplant if you have: Current alcohol or drug abuse problems. Uncontrolled infection that will not go away with a transplant. Metastatic cancer or bile duct cancer.
Livers from female donors yielded significantly poorer results, with 2-year graft survival of female to male 55% (95% CI, 45% to 67%); female to female, 64% (95% CI, 54% to 77%); male to male, 72% (95% CI, 66% to 78%); and male to female, 78% (95% CI, 70% to 88%).
If you want to donate part of your liver to someone who needs a transplant, the two of you must be a good match. To make sure surgery goes well for both of you, doctors look at things like blood type, body size, and age. Donating part of your liver can be lifesaving for the recipient.
You don't have to have the exact blood type as the person who needs a new liver, but you need to be what's called "compatible." This can be figured out with a simple blood test.
Unfortunately, you will have significant pain after surgery. We will give you pain medication but you will still be very uncomfortable for at least the first week. You will have less pain as each day goes by, but most of our donors have a significant amount of discomfort for two to four weeks after surgery.
Typically, a liver donor spends approximately seven days in the hospital, and will have an additional six to eight weeks of recovery time. Donors who are from out of town (greater than a two-hour drive) should plan on spending an extra two to three weeks in town after they are discharged from the hospital.
Although mortality has traditionally been estimated at 1 in 250 for living donation, a more recent survey found a 1 in 1,000 chance of death among liver donors at experienced centers, and a morbidity rate of approximately 30%.
Avoid alcohol
If your liver transplant was due to an alcohol-related disease, you must never drink alcohol again as you risk harming your transplanted liver. This also applies if alcohol was thought to have contributed to your liver disease, even if it was not the main cause.
Nationally, an 84-year-old patient holds the title of oldest liver recipient and a 96-year-old is the oldest transplant recipient ever, according to statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS.
Is there an age limit to becoming an organ donor? No: There is no age limit for donation or to sign up. In 2021, one out of every three people who donated organs was over the age of 50.
Liver transplant can have excellent outcomes. Recipients have been known to live a normal life over 30 years after the operation.
The life expectancy of a Liver Donor:
As much as a person without liver transplant meaning the general population. Now you know that living liver donation has no impact on how long and healthy you will live.
Most patients can return to a normal or near-normal activity and participate in fairly vigorous exercise six to 12 months after successful liver transplant surgery. Often, we let patients return to work and drive as little as two to three months after liver transplantation.
How Long Does It Take for a Liver to Regenerate After Donation? In a few months after surgery, your liver will regenerate back to its full size, and return to your pre-donation level of health. The other person's new liver will grow to full size as well, leaving both people with healthy, functioning livers.
People with higher MELD scores are generally offered donated livers first. Time spent on the liver transplant waiting list is used to break ties among people with the same MELD scores and blood types. Some liver conditions, such as liver cancer, may not result in a person getting a high MELD score.
How Long Is Living-Donor Liver Surgery? The entire liver donor operation will take five to seven hours.
A liver from a living donor also has a longer survival rate. Living-donor liver transplants are more common among children who need a liver transplant than among adults because suitable deceased-donor organs are scarce. Most living liver donors are close family members or friends of the liver transplant candidates.
A small percentage of liver transplants are completed each year using a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor. Living donation is possible because the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. An adult may be able to donate a portion of their liver to a child or another adult.
The blood type of the donor must be compatible with the recipient. The rules for blood type in transplantation are the same as they are for blood transfusion. Some blood types can give to others and some may not. Blood type O is considered the universal donor.