Frequently Asked Questions

If you follow care requirements after transplantation and don’t have complications, there is no limit to how long a transplanted liver lasts. Your condition, health and lifestyle affect transplant success. Certain diseases – such as hepatitis C – can return causing complications that require treatment.

Doctors may advise a liver transplant procedure for life-threatening liver disease or injury. Conditions causing serious liver damage include:

• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Poisonous foods or substances
• Drug reaction or overdose
• Improper use of acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Viral hepatitis (inflammation)
• Infection
• Autoimmune, metabolic or genetic diseases
• Tumors 
• Primary liver cancer
• Cirrhosis (scarring)
• Trauma
• Biliary (bile, bile ducts or gall bladder) disease
• Fatty liver disease
• Obesity
• High cholesterol

Your team manages liver transplant donor risks and discusses ways to prevent complications. Risks include:

• Infection
• Abnormal bleeding or clotting
• Bile fluid leaks
• Organ damage
• Abdominal hernia
• High blood pressure

Any surgery has risks, including those related to your pre-surgery condition. Doctors manage risks, including prescribing medication to control clotting and prevent infection or rejection. Following care instructions also reduces risks. Potential complications include:

• Organ-rejection – Your immune system can attack the new liver as foreign tissue.
• Infection – Infection may develop around internal or external surgical sites.
• Excess bleeding – Post-transplant bleeding requires surgery.
• Abnormal clotting – Clots in a blood vessel to or from your liver can cause organ damage.
• Biliary injury – Injuries can include damage to bile ducts. 
• Medication side effects – Infection risk can increase from weakened immunity.

Liver transplant recovery for donors depends on the procedure – including the type and size of liver tissue removed and whether it’s minimally invasive or open surgery.

After surgery, a liver donor stays overnight in intensive care. You’ll move to a hospital room where specialists oversee your care. Most donors are hospitalized for a few days to a week.

Liver tissue regrows, forming a complete liver in six to eight weeks. You’ll return for outpatient evaluation. Full recovery usually ranges from three to six weeks.

If you find a suitable living donor, wait times can be as short as a few days or weeks. If not, doctors send your information to a national transplant waiting list managed by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

It can take months or longer to find a suitable donor liver. Experts measure certain criteria and assign a priority score. This indicates how urgently you need a new liver. Those who are critically ill are more likely to get the next available liver.

• Measures affecting your score and wait time include:
• Severity of liver disease and condition
• Whether you’re on dialysis
• Kidney function and liver health blood measurements
• Blood type and group
• Availability of suitable donor organs in your region
• Distance from donor location to transplant center

Experts help you plan a liver transplant diet. Generally, avoid or limit:

• Fried, fatty, sugary or salty foods
• Raw or undercooked fish or meat
• Alcohol (avoid or limit as instructed by your doctor)
• Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils

Drink plenty of water and choose:

• Vegetables and fruit
• High-fiber foods
• Lean meat
• Skinless poultry
• Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids
• Fat-free or low-fat milk

Anti-rejection drugs weaken your immune system. You take a higher dose for weeks or months after your transplant. During this time, you have a greater risk of fungal and respiratory infection. As your body adjusts, doctors lower the dose.

Since you take anti-rejection drugs for life, you’ll have a higher risk of infection and certain types of cancer.  

It’s best to limit or avoid alcohol to protect your liver and long-term health. Generally, most people can have one or two occasional drinks. Your doctor will advise you about your condition and appropriate diet and lifestyle changes.