Feb. 19, 2025
At any given time, there are approximately 10,000 people on the waiting list for a liver transplant in the United States. Approximately 20% of people on the list will die while waiting for a transplant. Living liver transplant offers another option. However, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing data, only 6% of liver transplants performed last year came from living donors.
Surgeons at Mayo Clinic are taking living liver donation to the next level with paired living liver donation — a significant step in helping more people with liver failure get a lifesaving transplant.
"Liver transplantation is the only treatment option for most people with end-stage liver disease. But sadly, there are not enough donated livers available for everyone who needs one," says Timucin Taner, M.D., Ph.D., division chair of Transplant Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "That is why living liver donation is so important."
Mayo Clinic's first paired living liver donation
Paired living donation is commonly used for kidney transplants. It is relatively rare for liver transplants — even though people can donate up to 70% of the liver because of the liver's unique ability to regenerate itself within a month.
When a potential donor wants to help a family member or friend but isn't the best match for that recipient, paired donation is an excellent option. Donors and recipients are matched with other donors and recipients, creating a so-called liver chain. While living liver donation can save a life, paired living liver donation has the potential to save even more lives.
In August 2024, Dr. Taner and a team of surgeons at Mayo Clinic performed the clinic's first paired living liver donation. Now, six months post-op, all four donation participants are doing well and on their way to full recoveries.
Mayo Clinic joins the ranks of top-tier paired living liver donation transplant centers
Only a handful of transplant centers in the U.S. offer paired liver donation — and Mayo Clinic is now one of them.
Paired living liver donation is a complex procedure and a major logistical undertaking. It requires a large healthcare team of nurse coordinators, physicians, social workers and others who can accurately match patients in a timely manner. It also requires experienced surgical teams to carefully coordinate all four procedures. Mayo Clinic has the necessary skills and personnel to successfully accomplish these life-giving transplants.
Dr. Taner says he expects that Mayo Clinic will do more paired liver donations in the future to help more patients get the transplants that they need. He encourages people who are healthy and between the ages of 18 and 60 to consider becoming a living liver donor.
"The biggest misconception about living donation is sometimes people think they won't be able to have a normal life after the donation, which is wrong," Dr. Taner says. "It is a big operation, and patients need to understand that. But once it is over, the liver regenerates to its full size, and the vast majority of people don't have long-term consequences after donation."
For more information
United Network for Organ Sharing.
Living-donor transplantation. Mayo Clinic.
Refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.