Where do donated livers come from?
Livers for transplantation can come from deceased donors or living donors. In both cases, blood type and body size are the most important factors in determining whether a donated liver may be a match for the patient.Deceased donors typically die of accidents or head injuries. Either they have arranged in advance to be an organ donor or their family grants permission for organ donation when the victim is declared brain dead. In a living donor transplant, a segment of a healthy person’s liver is transplanted into the sick patient. This can be done because the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. Both the donated segment and the remaining section of the donor liver will grow to normal size within weeks. Living donors are generally family members or close relatives of the patient. Livers are donated, with the consent of the next kin, from individuals who have brain death, usually as a result of a head injury or brain hemorrhage.
