Final Testing Before Surgery Approval

[Daisybug72]

Hi Everyone,
I thought I had posted previously on this board but I guess not - my DH and I are going next week do 3 days of tests to determine whether he is eligible to donate part of his liver to his brother.  He is a blood match and has had all kinds of preliminary workups, but now we do the MRI, CT, psych etc.  My question is - does it happen often that at this stage they will not do surgery?  Are they looking now for any problems with his health?  Or are they still trying to determine if he's a 'better' match? 

We have a thousand questions and have been researching and will talk with the transplant coordinator when we meet her on Monday but right now my mind is going a million miles a minute with questions! LOL
Thanks for any info you can provide!

[lawphi]

Typically, insurance will only allow one donor to do the testing at a time until they are ruled out.  He may not necessarily be the better match.  I know nothing about the HLA typing for livers. 

The tests are to make sure that your husband is healthy enough to donate, both mentally and physically.  A living liver donation is very major surgery and has significant risks that you will be informed about next week to make sure.  At anytime, you can back out of donating and the center will simply say that you are not medically eligible. 

Once a donor evaluation is complete, the coordinator and the surgeons will review all the information to determine if your husband is a good donor to his brother and if the surgery should take place.  This typically takes place in a meeting with all the team members present.   If he is approved, they will call with approval and discuss a time frame to get on the table.