What are the major risks in donating?
Risks to the donor include, but are not limited to, bleeding, infection, bile leakage from cut surface of liver and possible death. The likelihood of these risks is more when the right lobe of the liver (comprising up to 60% of total liver volume) is used for donation. When the recipient is a small adult, the left lobe of the liver from the donor might suffice and in such cases the complication rates are extremely low. For transplantation into children, even smaller portion of the liver is required from the donor, diminishing the complication even further, although not totally eliminating them. In most cases, these complications resolve spontaneously. Nevertheless in some cases additional operation may even be necessary. Overall the risk of complication is about 10% and the risk of death is less than is less than 1 in 200.
