I went through the process of a living donor liver transplant, ten years ago, because my health complications did not add to my priority for a cadaver liver, but were killing me just the same. I found it very difficult to discuss the subject since I knew nothing about it from the viewpoint of the donor. Just recently the New York Center for Liver Transplantation released a new booklet on what the live liver donor can expect during the process . The information is from individuals who have donated a portion of their liver to a loved one.
For the past three years, they have surveyed individuals who donated in New York State about life after living donation. The forty-four respondents included spouses, siblings or children of the recipients. Parents, friends and other relatives also gave information.
In their own words, it is what these donors said about:
• The Surgery
• Recovery After Donation
• Costs of Donation
• Employment Issues
• Life After Donation
It can be found on the internet at: http://www.nyclt.org/living_donor/index.php
Hopefully this can be of some use. Good Luck
unfortunately this is the reality of the MELD system in which encephalopathy does not really confer any priority. You may need to consider a live donor. it is paradoxical that you have to get sicker so as to get a transplant but we have to work within the system. you must make sure that you are developing ascites as the cause of your weight gain.