Living liver donation
During your lifetime, you can donate a part of your liver to a patient who is ill. This is called living liver donation. You can read more about it here.
The liver is a remarkable organ. If a part is removed, the liver can grow back into a normally functioning liver within a few weeks. That is why you can donate a part of your liver during your lifetime. This helps someone who is seriously ill.
Donating a part of your liver
Living liver donation does not happen very often: about thirty times a year. People often choose to donate while living because someone close to them is seriously ill. For example, a child, partner, or friend. You can also donate a piece of your liver to someone you do not know.
Read more here about who you can donate to
Not everyone who wants to donate a piece of their liver can become a donor. There are a number of rules you must meet. For example, you must be at least 18 years old, choose to donate voluntarily, and be healthy. There must also be a match between you and the recipient of the liver.
'With the transplant, Lorenzo was born again'
Baby Lorenzo is alive thanks to a liver donation from a living donor.
Read Lorenzo's story
Find out if you can donate
If someone indicates to the hospital that they want to donate a part of their liver, doctors will investigate whether they can be a suitable donor. Not everyone who wants to donate a piece of their liver can become a donor.
During the examinations, it is extensively checked whether the donor is healthy enough to donate and has no underlying diseases. And whether there is a match with the recipient of the organ. The potential donor also speaks with a social worker and a psychologist. This is to decide whether someone understands the consequences of the donation and is mentally strong enough to go through the process. Exactly how the examinations proceed varies per hospital. The specialists at the transplant hospital will provide more information about the necessary examinations.
The donor may stop the donation at any time during the preparatory process. This is also allowed right before the surgery. The doctors at the hospital will always respect that.
Surgery for donating a part of the liver
During the operation, the surgeon removes a part of the liver. If you donate a part of your liver to a child, this is twenty to forty percent of your liver. If you donate to an adult, approximately sixty percent of your liver is removed. The surgeon also removes the gallbladder during the operation.
Like other operations, this donor surgery is not without risks. The specialists at the hospital discuss the risks of living liver donation with the donor. Very occasionally, it turns out during the operation that the transplant cannot proceed after all.
Annemieke donated a piece of her liver to her daughter
When daughter Abigail needed a liver transplant, Annemieke said immediately: she will get a piece of my liver. And so it happened. But she only discovered later that this was not at all as logical as it seemed.
Read Annemieke's story
Recovering after living liver donation
After the operation, the donor is also temporarily a patient who must recover from surgery. The donor usually stays in the hospital for about ten days. Liver donors often have pain for a few days after the operation; sometimes that pain is difficult to manage. This is because the donor cannot have many painkillers, as the liver is currently not functioning as well.
After the hospital stay, recovery takes several more weeks. The donor may then need help, for example with housework, and is usually unable to work. There are reimbursements available for extra help needed after the donation. You can read more about this on the website of the Dutch Transplant Foundation