Living organ transplant question? Important?

Question

my dad has hepatitis C for like, maybe over 20 years now, and so far he looks and feels fine even though there are small problems like having a fatty liver. It's just his habits of going out to bars once or twice a week and him eating unhealthy food make me worry about his health. He doesn't go to routine check-ups either. Is it possible that I can do a living organ transplant for him and kinda like have him start over with his liver before things like cirrhosis and cancer happens?

serious answers please, thank you

Answer 1

I don't know, but I wouldn't make that sacrifice for someone who didn't change his habits. You're a saint.

Answer 2

The possibility is there, but people are screened on their habits and chances. If your dad does not change his health and diet habits and doesn't start to show for appointments, he will be refused. Otherwise, his new liver will just degrade.

You cannot get a liver from a living donor. People have only one liver, and can't function without one. Dialysis can temporarily replace kidneys, but no machine can replace the complexity of the liver.

Answer 3

It sounds like your dad doesn't need a new liver at this stage. If he looks and feels fine, and the only problems are "small" ones, his liver is likely still functioning, although not at top efficiency. Also, hepatitis C is a chronic infection in 80% of the people who have it. Getting a new liver would not cure that, and the new liver would just get infected after the transplant, anyway. This, combined with his continued habit of drinking, would make a transplant an exercise in futility. The new one would help for a little while (assuming you're a match), but it wouldn't be all that long before it would be in the same condition as his original liver. He would also be living with a suppressed immune system after that (to prevent rejection), so would be more susceptible to other diseases.

If your father ever becomes ill enough to have a doctor say he needs a new liver, his lifestyle will likely prevent him from being put on the waiting list, and in that case, a living donation from a family member would be the only way for him to get a new liver. Your heart is in the right place, but to do him the most good, you should wait until a new liver will do him significantly more good than his original one. Good luck to both of you.

Note: to respond to a previous poster, the liver is the only human organ that can (partially) regenerate, and you can function with a partial liver. People do get liver transplants from living donors all the time. The doctors will take part of the donor's liver and transplant it into the recipient. The donor's remaining liver will regenerate to a certain degree over time, and both people should have no trouble living with only a partial liver. The human body is an amazing thing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_trans...

Answer 4

you only have one liver, so no. wtf

also, no doctor in their right mind would ever do a transplant on your dad who doesn't take care of himself. it would be a waste. sorry

we live and learn