Liver transplant

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Donor liver attachment

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If you received a donated liver, you will likely need to stay in the hospital for about 3 - 7 days. After that, you will need to be closely followed up by a doctor and have regular blood tests for 1 - 2 months.

The recovery period is about 6 - 12 months. Your transplant team may ask you to stay close to the hospital for the first 3 months. You will need to have regular check-ups, with blood tests and x-rays for many years.

People who receive a liver transplant may reject the new organ. This means that their immune system sees the new liver as a foreign substance and tries to destroy it.

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To avoid rejection, almost all transplant recipients must take medicines that suppress their immune response for the rest of their lives. This is called immunosuppressive therapy. Although the treatment helps prevent organ rejection, it also puts people at a higher risk for infection and cancer.

If you take immunosuppressive medicine, you need to be regularly screened for cancer. The medicines may also cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and increase the risks for diabetes.

A successful transplant requires close follow-up with your doctor. You must always take your medicine as directed.

Review Date: 05/04/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).