Digestive Diseases: Liver Transplantation

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The liver is the body's largest internal organ, weighing about 3 pounds in adults. It is located below the diaphragm on the right side of the abdomen.

The liver performs many complex functions in the body, including:

• Produces most proteins needed by the body.
• Metabolizes, or breaks down, nutrients from food to produce energy, when needed.
• Prevents shortages of nutrients by storing certain vitamins, minerals and sugar.
• Produces bile, a compound needed to digest fat and to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K.
• Produces most of the substances that regulate blood clotting.
• Helps your body fight infection by removing bacteria from the blood.
• Removes potentially toxic byproducts of certain medications.

When Is a Liver Transplant Needed?

Liver transplantation is considered when the liver no longer functions adequately (liver failure). Liver failure can occur suddenly (acute liver failure) as a result of infection or complications from certain medications or it can be the end result of a long-term problem. The following conditions may result in liver failure:

• Chronic hepatitis with cirrhosis.
• Primary biliary cirrhosis (a rare condition where the immune system inappropriately attacks and destroys the bile ducts causing liver failure).
• Sclerosing cholangitis (scarring and narrowing of the bile ducts inside and outside of the liver causing the backup of bile in the liver which can lead to liver failure).
• Biliary atresia (malformation of the bile ducts).
• Alcoholism
• Wilson's disease (a rare inherited disease with abnormal deposition of copper throughout the body, including the liver, causing it to fail).
• Hemochromatosis (a common inherited disease where the body is overwhelmed with iron).
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (an abnormal accumulation of alpha-1 antitrypsin protein in the liver, resulting in cirrhosis).
• Liver cancer

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