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However, partial transplants from living donors are on the rise. Almost all (95%) liver transplants are whole livers from deceased donors. Around 12,500 people each year are added to the donor waitlist. How common are liver transplants?Īround 8,500 people a year receive liver transplants. As a result, your outlook depends on many individual factors. However, most people with primary liver cancer also have chronic liver disease. Liver transplant surgery is only a treatment for liver cancer if it hasn’t yet spread beyond your liver. If you’re waiting for a liver transplant to treat primary liver cancer, cancer itself may still be in the first stage. People can live with cirrhosis for months or years while waiting for a liver transplant, although the need becomes more urgent when complications, such as portal hypertension, begin to develop. Chronic liver failure is a more gradual process. Those who don’t recover may die within days. If you have acute liver failure, you may recover, but this can’t be predicted. How long can you live without a liver transplant? But if your liver is in poor condition, a transplant may be needed. Sometimes your provider can remove just a piece of your liver with the tumor in it (partial liver resection). If cancer doesn’t spread beyond your liver, removing the liver can remove cancer and cure it. The type of cancer that begins in your liver is called primary liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma. When your liver functions begin to break down, you’ll show signs of “decompensated” liver disease. This is also called cirrhosis of the liver. It usually means that too much of your liver tissue has been replaced with scar tissue, which has no blood flow. Chronic liver failureĬhronic liver failure is the end-stage of chronic, progressive liver disease. Some livers recover from acute liver failure, but others don't. If you have acute liver failure, you will have symptoms of liver insufficiency - evidence that your liver has stopped working. The damage may come from toxic poisoning or infection. Acute liver failureĪcute liver failure occurs when a previously healthy liver has severe damage. But since these diseases tend to progress slowly, starting over with a healthy liver can buy valuable time. Some chronic liver diseases will simply resume their destructive work on the new liver. The competition for donor livers is high, and even if you do get one, it won’t always cure the underlying disease. Primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma).Liver transplant surgery is usually reserved for: What conditions can a liver transplant treat? There are many more people who need liver transplants than there are donor livers available. Many things can cause your liver to stop working, including immediate (acute) causes like toxic poisoning and chronic liver diseases. If your liver is failing, or if you have primary liver cancer, a liver transplant could save your life. You can’t live without a functioning liver. Why would someone need to have a liver transplant?

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A divided liver can grow back to full size in both your body and the living donor’s body. You can receive a whole liver from a donor who has recently been pronounced dead, or you can receive a part of a liver from a living donor. A liver transplant is a surgical procedure to replace a failing liver with a healthy one that comes from another person’s body.