Two types of donors are suitable for the transplantation of the liver

1. Cadaveric Liver Donation

This kind of donation is possible from the people, who have got the brain dead and importantly, the family agrees to donate the organ of that person just before the life support is discontinued. People generally after the brain injury caused by the accidents, people suffering from the fatal brain hemorrhage etc. who are found in the ICU of the hospital can be suitable for this donation. In such situations, the part of the liver can be used for a child and the whole liver for the adult. After the liver retrieval from the donor, the liver has to be preserved safely outside the body. It should be preserved in some special prevention solution for about 12 to 15 hours.
The organ must be allocated only based on matching of the blood group, the urgency of the requirement and time on the waiting list.

2. Living Liver Donation

Donation of the liver is also possible from any of living donors, who are relative to the patient. The operation performed on the donor is completely safe. Half liver gets regenerated quickly in both the recipient and donor in just a few weeks. However the half liver is good enough for the donor to maintain the regular and normal functions, before it gets regenerated. It is because of the immense reserve of the liver.

For donation of the liver,

• The donor must donate only from his or her own will.
• The donor should be aged between 18 and 55 years and the weight of the body must be normal.
• The donor needs to be a close relative.
• The blood group of both donor and recipient must match.
• The liver structure or function and the other systems of the donor must be working normally.
• In terms of volume, half of the liver of the donor would be enough to give to the recipient.

The above respects are checked for the suitability and other important technical points are considered and determined by the team of transplant during the pre-transplant donor evaluation. This evaluation generally takes 2 to 3 days of time.

Some important facts worth known about the liver donation surgery

• The modern cutting techniques with the usage of CUSA made these processes to be safe and they even blood less.
• A normal and healthy liver has immense reserve – so, there is no danger even 70% of the liver is removed safely, although less volume of it is needed to be removed generally.
• A normal and healthy liver can grow back very quickly – Normally, it can be restored to the actual or normal size after removing half sized liver, in just 2 weeks time.

Life after Liver Donation for Donor

The donor needs to stay in the hospital for 5 to 10 days after operation. Recuperation is required to be done at home for next 3 to 4 weeks. Later, the donor is resumed for normal activity,