While organs are always in short supply, new methods of liver transplantation are helping more patients than ever before. New surgical techniques and use of immunosuppressant drugs are making it possible for liver transplant patients to live longer and greatly improve their quality of life. At Einstein Center for Liver Disease our survival rates are 87 percent, higher than the national average of 80 percent.

A liver transplant operation can take more than 24 hours in total, including the donor and recipient procedure. The liver transplant surgical staff performs the procedure in two teams. The first team removes the organ from the donor; this usually involves travel to another medical center. Then the second team removes the diseased organ from the patient and implants the donor organ. During implantation, our specialists reduce blood loss and the need for transfusions by using cell savers and rapid infusers to collect blood and return it to the patient.

In the recent past, donated organs were only available from cadavers that closely matched the recipient's blood and tissue type, and body size. Today, there are new options for those patients needing a liver transplant. Click a link below to learn more.

Life Before Transplantation
Before liver transplantation, most patients suffer from the ravages of end-stage liver disease: brain malfunction; weakness; fatigue; fluid build-up in the abdomen, arms and legs; lack of appetite; and bouts of peritonitis or pneumonia. These symptoms have a negative effect on quality of life. Up to one-half of liver transplantation candidates are bedridden in the final few weeks before transplantation. Nearly one-third will be disabled or unable to work because of their illness prior to transplantation.

Recovery in the Hospital
The return to a "normal life" begins long before the patient is discharged from the hospital. Immediately following the transplantation, patients are usually weak and nutritionally depleted. Aggressive physical therapy, which starts in the hospital and continues on an outpatient basis, is often required. Psychosocial distress is not unusual in either the patient or their families. Orientation to reality, patient education and supportive nursing care are all critical to the patient's emotional well-being.

Recovery at Home After Transplant
Research has found that liver transplant patients can expect high levels of quality of life&acute-- similar to that of people who haven't been ill. One goal of liver transplantation is to return patients back to &quotnormal" life. For many patients this means being able to continue pre-transplant activities such as working and running a home. Transplant recipients who work generally have a higher quality of life than those who do not.

For certain female transplant recipients, pregnancy can be safe and successful for both mother and child. Because immunosuppressant drugs may have unknown harmful effects, women should proceed with great caution before they attempt to conceive. Both men and women usually return to fertility after transplantation, so those who want to avoid pregnancy should use safe and effective contraceptive methods.