Finding the Right Donor for Your Liver Transplant

The international healthcare guidelines state that any patient who is suffering from liver cirrhosis and projects a life expectancy that is less than one year can be considered eligible for a liver transplant. The severity of the disease is typically graded from A to C.What is a Liver Transplant?Hepatic or liver transplant involves the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy one from another individual. Based on the severity and urgency of the case at hand, the patient is either put on the cadaveric donation waiting list; or if the patient is able to find a willing family member with a matched blood group; a transplant may be scheduled based on the results of the donor's evaluation.Most surgeons recommend family members to consider donation in cases where the patient's condition seems to be getting worse.Who are the Cadaveric Donors?Cadaveric donors are essentially people who in their lifetime pledge that their organs from their body may be used after their deaths, to help patients with terminal illnesses. However, the local law states that the decision to donate the organs lies with the next of kin after the death of the pledged donor.Where to Find Liver Donors?If you are under treatment with a reputed liver transplant centre, they are most likely to assist you in making the correct decisions with regards to finding the right donor. Most liver transplant centers also run their own donor program that encourages individuals to pledge their organs for the terminally ill. Consequently, there are a number of government organizations and not for profit organizations who provide assistance in this regards.


Things to Take care of while Identifying a Donor:
Medically speaking it is of extreme importance that the donor and the receiver belong to the same blood group.
Make sure your surgeon has also taken all the necessary measures to evaluate the overall health of the donor.
Ask for a copy of the consent form that is filled up by the donor. Also acquire a written consent from the lawful custodian of the body of the deceased.
As a receiver as well as a donor, it is important for you to know that having a donor card does not bind an individual legally to give away his organs after death. It also represents one's willingness to donate the organs.
In the case of a cadaveric donation, it is mandatory that a panel of four doctors need to declare brain stem death twice within a gap period of 6 hours. This team must include the medical administrator, a neurologist or neurosurgeon, an authorized specialist and the medical officer under whom the patient was being treated.
As a receiver, you should not be compelled to make any payment on account of the liver donation.
With a vast shortage of liver donors, finding the right one can be an extremely daunting process. In such circumstance, it is best to get treated from a reputed liver transplant center that has the resources at hand to help you find the best donor within a requisite time frame.