Why is living-donor liver transplantation desirable?
The principal advantage of living-donor transplantation is that it provides immediate organ availability to those awaiting transplantation. The timing of the transplant operation can be planned and the progression of recipient’s liver disease and its life-threatening complications can be avoided. Research is finding that patients with living donors have a lower than average MELD score. Nationally, nearly 17,000 individuals wait for liver transplantation, while only 6,700 deceased-donor organs (those coming from brain-dead donors) become available each year. Living-donor transplantation offers the possibility of earlier transplantation to those in need, before their health deteriorates to life-threatening status.
Living donor liver transplantation has two major advantages over deceased-donor transplantation. First, there is an improved survival rate for the adult transplant recipients who received living-donor livers over deceased-donor livers. Please see charts below. Secondly, the wait for transplantation can be greatly reduced.
