What is a domino liver transplant?
In very rare occasions, transplant surgeons can perform a domino liver transplant. A first recipient receives a liver from a deceased donor. This first recipient is then able to donate his or her liver to a second recipient, who is not likely to experience the same type or extent of liver disease. For example, some people require a liver transplant because they have a disease called familial amyloidosis. After a person with familial amyloidosis receives a new liver, however, he or she can donate the removed liver to another who is waiting for a liver transplant. This donation is possible because the patient’s liver is not actually diseased and should function normally in another individual. Although familial amyloidosis prevents the liver from processing certain proteins properly, which eventually causes damage to arms, legs and internal organs, its effects generally are not noticeable for 40 to 60 years. Because this process takes place so slowly over the course of a lifetime, the per
