Can You Donate a Liver While Alive?
Did you know that a living person can donate part of their liver to someone in need of a transplant and go on to live a long, healthy life?
Most people are familiar with living kidney donation. Fewer realize that living liver donation is also possible.
While living liver donation is less common—only about 5% of liver transplants in 2024 were from living donors—it offers important advantages over deceased liver donation.
How Is Living Liver Donation Possible?
The liver is unique. Unlike most organs, it has the ability to regenerate. This makes living liver donation possible even though we only have one liver.
When you become a living liver donor, you do not donate your entire liver. Surgeons remove only a portion—typically the left or right lobe, depending on the recipient’s size and medical needs. After surgery, both the donor’s remaining liver and the recipient’s transplanted portion regenerate to full size, usually within six to eight weeks.
The Importance of Living Liver Donation
Thousands of people are on the liver transplant waitlist, and many won’t receive an organ in time due to a shortage of deceased donor livers. A living donor transplant can help address that gap and offers several important benefits:
- Shorter Wait Time: Patients waiting for a deceased donor liver may wait months—or even years—depending on organ availability and medical urgency. With a living donor, the evaluation process can begin right away.
- Planned Surgery: Unlike deceased donor transplants, which happen suddenly when an organ becomes available, living donor transplants can be scheduled in advance, which allows both the donor and recipient to prepare physically, emotionally, and logistically.
- Better Outcomes: Recipients of living donor livers often experience faster recovery, fewer complications, and improved long-term outcomes. Because the liver segment comes from a thoroughly screened, healthy individual and is transplanted quickly after removal, it is less likely to suffer damage before surgery.
Who Can Be a Living Liver Donor?
Living liver donors must be healthy adults with excellent liver function and no significant medical conditions that would make surgery unsafe. The transplant team will perform a comprehensive medical and psychological evaluation to ensure that donation is safe for both the donor and the recipient.
What to Expect After Donation
Living liver donation is major surgery. Most donors stay in the hospital for several days following the procedure and require about six to eight weeks to recover fully. Liver donors can gradually return to normal activities, and most go on to live normal, healthy lives with no long-term impact on liver function.
Comprehensive Protections for Living Liver Donors
Living liver donors who donate at participating centers are eligible for Liver Donor Shield, which provides important protections, including:
- Lost Wage Reimbursement: Up to $2,000 per week for up to 12 weeks
- Donor Expense Reimbursement: Up to $8,000 for travel and dependent care costs
- Complication Protection: Reimbursement for uncovered expenses
- Legal Support: Assistance for employment or insurance discrimination issues
If you are interested in becoming a living liver donor, contact your local transplant center.