INSTRUCTOR: Welcome.
In this transplant educational segment,
we will offer information about the various types
of donor livers that can be considered as you move forward
with liver transplantation.
The University of Washington Liver Transplant
Program feels privileged to have you
as a candidate for liver transplant.
During your transplant evaluation,
you'll be meeting with one of our transplant surgeons.
They will review your medical testing
to determine if transplant surgery would
be a good option for you.
Your transplant surgeon will also
discuss different types of donor livers,
such as deceased liver donors, which
can include standard criteria donors, expanded criteria
donors, and donation after cardiac death.
Another option available for patients
would be a living liver donor transplant.
We will review these different options in more detail.
Livers from deceased donors is the most common type
of liver transplant surgery.
During this surgical procedure, a donor liver
will come from an individual who has suffered brain death.
Brain death is when the brain stops
functioning due to irreversible damage
and is considered indicative of death.
Due to the significant shortage of donor offers,
your transplant surgeon may speak with you
about other types of donor livers,
such as expanded criteria donors.
This can be an option for some candidates
and can offer transplant to some individuals
by shortening the waiting time to transplantation.
Expanded criteria donors may include
the following characteristics, such as a donor
with an age over 70, a donor with a high risk
social behavior, or a donor with a history of active virus,
such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C. When our transplant surgery
team evaluates your medical case,
they will look at a variety of factors,
such as your specific liver disease, your age,
and current state of health, in order
to determine if an expanded criteria donor could
be a suitable option for you.
Please know that all liver donors
are carefully screened for all infectious diseases.
Donation after cardiac death, or better known as DCD,
is another type of donor liver.
These stoners come from a non-heart beating donor.
In this type of donation, the donor
has irreversible brain injury, but does not meet
a formal brain death criterion.
Families allow the heart to stop beating,
and then the organs are recovered
in the operating room.
During your transplant surgery visit,
your transplant surgeon can offer you more information
about risks and benefits of this type of donor liver.
Another option available at our center
is living donor liver transplant.
During the surgery, the diseased liver is removed,
and a healthy living person donates
a portion of their liver to another individual.
The smaller piece of liver that is transplanted
can regenerate or regrow since the liver
can grow new liver tissue.
Most living donors are relatives or friends
and undergo extensive testing to determine if they can donate
a portion of their liver.
Living donors can also be non-directed or altruistic
donors.
These donors decide to donate a piece of their liver
to somebody in need and have no relationship with the patient.
During your transplant surgery visit,
your transplant surgeon can offer you more information
about donor livers.
Patients who get listed for liver transplant
may wait for months or years for a life saving transplant.
Sadly, not everybody will receive a transplant.
To prevent unnecessary deaths, Living Donor Liver Transplant,
or LDLT, has become an option for some patients.
So what are the advantages of a living donor liver
transplant versus waiting for a traditional deceased donor
liver offer?
When a patient chooses living donor liver transplant surgery,
the wait time on the transplant list is shortened.
In addition, a patient can be transplanted
prior to becoming too sick.
LDLT also offers the benefit of excellent liver quality
due to a shorter delay from organ removal
to transplantation.
Many patients ask who they should
contact for living liver donor questions.
If you have a friend or family member
interested in living donation, ask
them to call our living donor liver transplant
team at 206-598-0337.
The living donor team works directly with interested donors
to determine if donation is possible.
Having a separate group to manage living donors
ensures that there is no coercion
or conflict of interest in the living donation process.
Individuals who are evaluated will
be informed by the living donor team
if they are a candidate for this type of surgery.
Patients should not call their transplant coordinator
to follow up on donor testing, as they
are unable to discuss donor test results.
The hospital follows HIPAA, a federal law
that requires us to protect sensitive health information
from being disclosed to others.
Once donor testing is complete, the living donor team
will inform your donor if they are a possible match.
Donors are asked to inform you of our team's decision.
If matched, a surgery date will be scheduled.
Thank you for watching this segment
on types of liver donors.
Should you need additional information,
please reach out to your transplant nurse coordinator.
This concludes our liver transplant educational seminar.