Need help with living liver donation

[Zaga32290]

I have a very close friend that has liver cancer and is on the transplant list. I have heard about living liver donation on how they can take a part of your liver and give it to someone else. I also read that there is a 50-70% chance you will be denied. I am just wondering is this possible? This guy has been there for me threw thick and thin and i have made up my mind that i will do anything in my power to help him. I am 23 years old and live a very healthy life style. I have also been threw a lot of surgeries so that isn't what scares me to do it i just want to know what complications will i face if this is even possible.


-zach

[sherri]

You would first need to find out if your friend is eligible for a liver transplant. Some patients with certain types of cancers, especially ones that have spread outside the liver, cannot receive transplants because replacing the liver with a transplant will not cure their cancer. When you find out if your friend is eligible to receive a transplant then you can begin your research into becoming a possible donor. There would be tests to make sure you are compatible in blood types and size and of course to make sure you are healthy enough to undergo a very risky elective surgery.

You can read more about liver donation on this forum. This is very different than kidney donation. While the liver does regenerate unlike a kidney, the surgery itself comes with more risks and greater recuperation time. Good luck on your journey. Wishing your friend a complete recovery.

Sherri

[Zaga32290]

He is already on the transplant list but he has been waiting a long time. he keeps saying stuff like if i talk about a movie coming to theaters he will say ya maybe if im alive that long. This man has done nothing to anyone yet he was dealt these cards. I am starting to question my faith about this because i don't get how someone who has helped everyone his whole life has to deal with this. I am going on monday to see if i would be a match for him i know we already have the same blood type. As far as recuperation i have had to collapsed lungs with chest tubes for weeks at a time. I just hope everything will work out with him. Even if something happened to me i would still want him to be able to see his kids grow up.