Live Donor

Receiving a liver from a live donor is my Dad’s best option. My Dad has PSC, which is a liver disease in which the MELD score does not rise as fast as in patients with other liver diseases. A high MELD score is one of the primary indicators that a patient is sick enough to receive a liver from a deceased donor.

To have a successful live donor transplant the recipient must be sick enough to be on the waiting list, but not so sick that the transplant would be unsuccessful. This is the point my Dad is at right now. When a live donor donates their liver, surgeons take half of the donor’s liver and give it to the recipient. Both halves of the liver will regenerate into 2 full livers within 6-8 weeks. Rebuilding a liver is hard work for a body, so the recipient must be well enough to recover from the surgery. There is a small window in which live donor transplantation is possible. My Dad is currently in that window.

The Univerity of Colorado Hospital is one of the best transplant hospitals in the country. This is where my Dad and Mom looked into doing a live donor transplant. There are many things including blood type, liver mass, etc that have to match up in order for a willing live donor to actually donate. Because the window of opportunity is short, it is helpful to have anyone willing to be a donor looking into the possibility at the same time.

Interesting information I found out about being a Live Donor:

• There is no medical costs for the donor.  All of the donor’s medical bills are paid by donation agencies or the recipients insurance.
• The donor’s hospital stay is 5-7 days.
• You can be back to work at a desk job 6-8 weeks after the surgery.
• The University of Colorado has a perfect transplant record and their head surgeon is world renowned.
• You are still able to maintain you health insurance after the surgery.

Here are some tips if you are interested in finding out more about being a Live Donor:

• My parents have been through the process already. You can contact them and ask questions at any time.
• Contact Cathy Ray who is the R.N. Case Manager of the Liver Disease and Transplant Herpetology Department at the University of Colorado. Her phone number is 720-848-2286
• If interested in finding out if you could be a donor Cathy will ask you some questions over the phone. There are many things that have to match up in order to be a donor.
• Cathy will also set up an appointment for you to have your blood work done at a hospital near you.
• If your blood work and other things match, you will be asked to come to Denver to have other tests completed, such as a chest x-ray, a cat-scan of your liver and other tests to see if you really would be a donor match.

Additional Online Resources

• Live Donor Transplant Living
• 2007 Live Liver Donation: A Potential Donor’s Guide: this guide is put out by the British Columbia Transplant Society, but has a lot of great information.