Living Donors

Liver Transplantation Living Donors

Living Donor Program

The Northwestern Medicine Organ Transplant Center is a leader in living donor transplant surgery. The Organ Transplant Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital is home to the largest liver and kidney transplant program in Illinois. Northwestern Memorial Hospital has one of the largest living-donor organ transplant programs in the Midwest and is top 10 in the country.

A living donor liver transplant is possible when a healthy person donates a portion of their liver to another person. The liver has the ability to regenerate, or regrow, in both the donor and recipient. This procedure can dramatically cut the risk of death and complications in the recipient, and improvements in surgical techniques have helped to reduce the health risks for the donor.

In January 2006, Northwestern Memorial Hospital performed the world’s first laparoscopic (minimally invasive) living donor liver hepatectomy, which is the surgical removal of all or part of the liver. Since then, Northwestern Memorial Hospital has become the largest living donor program in Illinois.

Due to the success of liver transplantation, the number of patients waiting for a liver has increased dramatically during the past 10 years. Unfortunately, the number of donors has not kept pace.

The benefits of living donor liver transplants are well‐documented; livers from living donors have longer graft survival rates, function better and have fewer complications than livers from deceased donors. Patient and graft outcomes for transplant recipients continue to be excellent and compare favorably with local, regional and national outcomes.

Those who agree to be a living donor do so as a volunteer and find great reward in saving a life.


Who Can Be a Living Donor?

To be considered for a living liver donation, you must:

  • Have a compatible blood type to the recipient
  • Be 18 to 60 years old
  • Have had no major abdominal surgery
  • Be in good health with no major medical or psychiatric illnesses
  • Be at a healthy weight
  • Be able to understand and follow the instructions for surgery and recovery
  • Understand that the outcome of the transplant may not be as expected
  • Find great reward in saving a life

To prepare for the transplant, you will need to:

  • Provide your medical and psychosocial history
  • Have diagnostic tests, including EKG and chest X-ray
  • Undergo evaluation of the liver's size, blood supply and bile ducts

Your Independent Donor Advocate

It is important to know that the choice to donate is yours. You must not feel pressured or that donating is something you "have to do." This is a decision you need to make for yourself. You have the right to change your mind at any time. Your reasons for doing so will remain confidential. We will support you no matter what you decide.

Every donor is assigned an independent donor advocate. This person focuses on your well-being; they are not involved with the recipient. The advocate and transplant nurse coordinator will give you information about the donation surgery as well as risks to both you and the recipient.

Related Resources

Websites

  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases: AASLD promotes liver health, awareness and resources for the patient and also announces research awards.
  • American Liver Foundation: The ALF offers an array of information about liver disease and transplantation, as well as clinical trials and chapter locations and specifics. The Illinois chapter features an online support group and message board.
  • Coalition on Donation: This organization promotes and provides education about organ donation.
  • Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network: This not-for-profit organ procurement organization works with hospitals and donor families in the northern three-fourths of Illinois and northwest Indiana. The organization is responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue for medical transplantation, as well as for professional and public education on organ and tissue donation.
  • MedlinePlus: Liver Transplantation: Extensive array of information resources regarding all aspects of liver transplantation. Selected and maintained by the National Library of Medicine.
  • National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is undertaking this initiative to ease the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors by building a national community of organ sharing.
  • Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network: OPTN is a unique public-private partnership that links all of the professionals involved in the donation and transplantation system to increase the supply of donated organs available for transplantation.
  • Transplant Village: Giving Back to Northwestern Medicine: Transplant Village is a community of organ recipients, donors and family members who have had their lives touched and changed by the Northwestern Medicine Organ Transplant Center. With efforts managed by the Northwestern Medicine Transplant Advisory Council, this group has come together to create a network of resources and support and to raise funds for research and patient care at our affiliated hospitals.
  • United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS): Click on "Transplant Living" for information, resources and tools for patients, families and caregivers.
  • U.S. Transplant: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients: Check Transplant Statistics to see how NMH stands in relation to other transplant centers.

Support Groups