Living-Donor Liver Transplant

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-1919

Interested in Becoming a Living Donor?

Take the first step and complete our confidential living-donor transplant questionnaire.

Liver transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with end-stage liver disease.

There continues to be a critical shortage of deceased donor livers. In the United States, there are currently more than 13,000 patients waiting to receive a liver transplant. Approximately 7,000 patients receive a liver transplant every year but nearly 1,500 patients die each year on the waiting list while waiting for an organ.

What Is a Living-Donor Liver Transplant?

During living-donor liver transplantation, part of the liver is removed from a healthy adult (the donor) and transplanted into the patient (the recipient) after the diseased liver has been removed. This procedure is possible because of the liver’s remarkable capacity to regenerate – the liver segments in both the donor and recipient grow back to full size within a few weeks. UT Southwestern Medical Center's Living-Donor Liver Transplant Program offers patients a life-saving option, while protecting the safety, health, and interests of donors.

Who Can Receive a Living-Donor Liver Transplant?

Any patient who is on the liver transplant waiting list is eligible to be considered to receive a liver from a live donor.

Who Can Donate a Liver?

The decision to donate must be voluntary and free from all coercion and financial compensation. Donors may withdraw from the evaluation process at any time without any repercussions. A person’s decision to opt out of donating a portion of his or her liver for any reason is private and kept confidential.

A healthy donor must:

Have a compatible blood type with the recipient
Be between the ages of 18 and 60
Be in good physical and mental health
Have an emotional relationship with the recipient
Have a BMI of less than 30
Have health insurance

Meet Our Living-Donor Liver Transplant Team

When it comes to living-donor liver transplantation, UT Southwestern offers expertise that enables us to deliver comprehensive, integrated care that helps patients achieve the best possible outcomes. Our program is made up of a team of skilled surgeons, hepatologists (liver doctors), intensive care doctors, infectious disease doctors, endocrinologists, imaging experts, nurses, transplant coordinators, social workers, psychologists, dietitians, pharmacists, financial coordinators, and other specialists who work side by side.

Arjmand Mufti, M.D.

Arjmand Mufti, M.D., is the Medical Director of the Liver Transplantation and Living-Donor Liver Transplantation Programs. He trained in internal medicine at Kings College Hospital in London and at the University of Chicago, where he received advanced training in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology. Aside from a busy clinical practice, Dr. Mufti collaborates with several of the leading peer-reviewed hepatology journals around the world as an ad-hoc reviewer and as a member of several editorial boards.

Madhukar Patel, M.D.

Madhukar S. Patel, M.D. is the Surgical Director of the Living-Donor Liver Transplantation Program. He specializes in the treatment of patients with end-stage liver and kidney disease, as well as those with benign and malignant diseases of the liver and bile ducts. His clinical practice focuses on liver transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, and kidney transplantation. In addition to clinical care, Dr. Patel is actively involved in research focused on developing strategies to improve the number and quality of organs available for transplant, as well as to develop pathways to optimize clinical outcomes after liver transplantation.

A Race Against Time

UT Southwestern’s Living-Donor Liver Transplant Program offers patients the possibility of a liver transplant without having to wait for a deceased donor organ to become available, effectively bypassing the waitlist.

What Are the Benefits of Living-Donor Liver Transplantation?

Recipient Benefits

Decreased waiting time for liver transplantation and prevention of adverse outcomes, including death while on the national deceased-donor waiting list
Surgery can be scheduled at the optimal time for the recipient and donor
Patients know the quality of the donor liver
Excellent outcomes that are better than for patients who receive deceased-donor transplants

Donor Benefits

Donors have the knowledge that they have saved the life of the recipient

What Are the Risks of Surgery for the Donor?

Surgery of any type is associated with risks. Major complications are rare with living donation, but all risks of the surgery will be discussed with the donor by the transplant surgeon during the evaluation process.

Who Pays for the Costs of Living Donation?

The liver recipient’s health insurance typically pays for the donor’s health care expenses, including doctors’ fees, hospital costs, and post-surgical follow-up visits. Costs such as lost income, travel, lodging, and other related expenses are usually not covered by insurance or the hospital.

The Evaluation Process

At UT Southwestern, the paramount goal during the evaluation process is to protect the donor’s health and well-being.

The evaluation process takes place in three stages:

Stage 1 – Screening of potential living donor candidates

All liver transplant candidates are educated about the role of living-donor liver transplantation
Recipients identify potential donors who contact UT Southwestern expressing an interest in being a living donor
A Living-Donor Health History Questionnaire is completed by the potential donor

Stage 2 – Evaluation Day

Consultation with the living-donor transplant team, including transplant surgeon, transplant hepatologist, social worker, and psychiatrist
Meeting with independent living-donor advocate
Blood tests/electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram/liver imaging including MRI/CT scan performed
Education session about living donor transplantation

Stage 3 – Scheduling date of surgery

If the living donor is approved, the transplant team will work to select a suitable date for surgery

Living-Donor Liver Transplant Surgery

The operation takes between 6 and 8 hours. The recipient and donor are in two adjoining operating rooms at the same time with two separate teams of surgeons operating simultaneously. The donor is closely monitored in the surgical ICU by specialized nursing and medical staff for the first 24 hours after surgery. The following day, the donor is transferred to the transplant floor and cared for by nurses and the transplant team with expertise in looking after living donors. The total expected inpatient stay is approximately 5 days.

Following discharge from the hospital, donors recover at home. Recovery rates vary between individuals, but most return to work within eight weeks of surgery.

Donors are monitored closely in the outpatient clinic and are seen at:

7–14 days post-donation
30 days
90 days
6 months
Annually for at least two years

Ask If Living-Donor Liver Transplant Is an Option

If a patient is interested in a living-donor liver transplant, please ask a UT Southwestern physician for more information.

Transplant Support Group

The Transplant Support Group meets virtually on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from noon-1 p.m. for transplant patients and their families to share experiences. This group (led by a social worker) provides an emotionally supportive atmosphere in which attendees can assist each other in coping with the various issues that arise before and after transplantation. It also provides information on topics of special interest to transplant patients and their families. For example, the dietitian may conduct a group discussion on nutritional information.

For more information about the Transplant Support Group, contact Stacy Franz at 214-645-5505.

Transplant

Comprehensive, World-Renowned Transplant Care

UT Southwestern provides the highest-quality care and helps restore patients to full and productive lives. Our transplantation teams are there for patients, from initial evaluation through the life of the organ