Department of Transplantation Dept. of Transplantation

3. Do you Have a Liver Donor?

This is one of the most important questions in the liver transplant process. Having a donor will greatly improve your entire transplant experience by reducing wait times and improving the chances of success. If you are currently on the wait-list, we strongly encourage you to talk to your family or friends about making the life-saving decision to donate.

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Who can Donate?

Benefits of Having a Donor

Shorter Waitlist Times

It is hard to determine with precision how long people have to wait for a deceased donor liver. At Lahey, the wait time average was 16.3 months (sample taken between Jan 1st 2006, to June 30th 2011). Moreover, many people unfortunately pass away while waiting for a deceased liver to become available. The average U.S. mortality rate while on the waitlist was 14.8% during the same timeframe as above. Having a living donor will shorten the wait time to about 6 months, potentially allowing for a transplant long before the liver disease becomes life-threatening.

Higher Survival Rates

The survival rates for transplanted liver grafts are higher for people who receive it through a living donor. This happens because livers from deceased donors may spend several hours without blood supply while being rushed between hospitals. This inevitable tissue damage can be mitigated by having a living donor, who will be in an adjacent operating room during the donation surgery.

Lower Medical Costs

Studies [source?] have shown that patients on the waitlist spend about $100,000 in medical bills each year to deal with liver disease. Having a liver donor substantially shortens the waiting time, effectively saving thousands of dollars.

Helping Others On The Waitlist

By participating in living donation, the donor is removing you from the waitlist, thus making your spot available for the next candidate waiting in line. This increases that person’s chance of survival, and at the same time, moves everybody up the regional waitlist by one spot.

Compatible Blood Types

If the square with the blood type of the donor and recipient has a check, they are compatible. If you’re not compatible with the intended recipient, you will not be able to donate to that person, but maybe another friend or relative will.

Blood Donor Chart