hep c and live liver donation

[kellyh06]

Hi,
  My father has hep c and i was wondering if down the track he needs a transplant would it be possible to give him part of my liver? he is 45 and i am female 22.

[LadyY]

I personally know a father and daughter who underwent the transplant. The daughter was around 20 yrs. old and father in mid to late 50's. He is about 6' 3" tall and weighed at least three hundred lbs. She is about 5' 11" and weighed approx. 175 lbs. She is fine, has given birth to a child since. this transplant took place about 6 1/2 years ago. She said she would do it again. Last I heard he was ok but was taking alot of meds..antirejection and when we talked last , he was very grateful to be alive.
All the best to you. He is a lucky man to have a daughter that would even consider it.

[Litchy]

I know of one donor to a member in my family. He was a close friend of my cousin. We have 4 Hep C's that I know of in my family. One brother, two cousins and me. None of us did any drugs together or even hung out with each other. One of my cousins had his friend donate part of his liver a year and a half ago. My cousin is doing a lot better (as all of us are - thank God), but the donor is havng serious health problems. I like the thought and your concerns. My son wanted to help me also, if needed, but I denied. I am 56 years old and have lived a very full and happy life so far. I would not let him do this because his health is more important to me then my own. Perhaps you should talk with your Father?? See how he feels.

[mikesimon]

See: http://med.stanford.edu/shs/txp/livertxp/livingdonation.html

Basic facts regarding the donor:

    * The donor should be a relative (close or distant) or emotionally related to the recipient.

    * The donor must be competent and freely willing to donate.

    * The donor should be in good physical and mental health.

    * The decision to be a donor should be made after careful consideration and understanding the procedure, and accepting its risks and complications.

    * There should be no evidence of financial gain arising out of the donation.

    * Potential donors who are believed or known to be coerced must be excluded.

    * The blood type of the donor must be the same, or compatible, with the recipient.

    * The donor must be relatively close in size (or larger) than the recipient.

    * Donors need to have the ability and willingness to comply with follow-up.

    * All donors must have a primary care physician.

    * All donors must have insurance coverage.

Mike

[mikesimon]

One important consideration is body size. The donor must be similar in size to the recipient. That is crucial so if you are significantly smaller you probably wouldn't be an appropriate donor. Then blood type must be compatible but other than those two factors there isn't much more. Good luck, Mike

[Kalio1]

What a sweet, caring daughter you are. It looks to me like your Dad is in good shape, don't worry about him needing replacement parts! He did all the smart things, quit alcohol and maintains good nutrition and it hasn't damaged his liver yet.It is a very slow moving virus in most people.
You are right that he is lucky to have found out he has it, millions have this and have no idea. It is called a "silent killer" disease because it can be present and not cause any symptoms to tip of the person something is wrong. The most common way people find out they have it is by suprise. How sad is that. We have to get universal testing going on. He can now stay on top of his situation and that is half the battle.

Having said that, here is some info. on live donor transplants though I do not see anything in what you report that indicates you would even need to worry about transplants of any kind!

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=67073

[kellyh06]

Yeah he is seeing someone he had a biopsy they said that it has not done much damage and he has stopped drinking (big deal for him ha ha ) and changed his diet so i think at this stage he is just going every few months to make sure its not getting worse.
It was actually lucky he found out He went to have his colestorol check and told the nurse that he gets faint with needles, but as he is covered in tattoos the nurse did not take him seriously.Anyway he fainted blood got on the nurse so they did a screen for everything and found it.Luckily the nurse still has no sign of it.

[kellyh06]

I figured that it would depend on blood type and that kind of stuff but its nice to know that it is a possibility.My brother has also said that he would be willing to do it if it is possible.I dont think it is a genorous act i know he would do it for me!!! :-)

[jmjm530]

I don't know the answer to your question but that's so wonderful and generous of you to be thinking like this. Fortunately, most people with Hepatitis C never need liver transplants. Many live full and long lives without even treating, and many more treat and get cured of the virus.

Is your dad seeing a liver specialist (hepatologist)? They would be the ones to evaluate the condition of your dad's liver and to guide him as to what would be the appropriate next steps. We have no doctors here.  A hepatologist  also be able to answer your question, but as stated, in most cases it doesn't come to that. If you're not seeing one already, you can usually find a hepatologist at your larger teaching hospitals. In general, they have more experience evaluating and treating hepatitis c than your average GP or Gastro.

Your dad is lucky having such a thoughtful and caring daughter.

All the best,

-- Jim

[GrandmaA]

That is so generous of you to think of offering. But you would have to ask a liver specialist. Do you have the same blood type? One of my sons has my blood type and the other one does not. I think there are also many other factors to consider re: whether you would be a suitable living donor. The gesture is very considerate of you. Hopefully, he will not need a transplant and the treatment will work for him.