A healthy liver is a matter of great importance and one of the primary keys to having a healthy body. The liver is one of the most important organs of the human body and plays a crucial role in keeping your body free of toxins. Often liver-related diseases, such as cirrhosis and acute liver failure are common causes of end-stage conditions. Such life-threatening illnesses hamper overall body functions and might need a transplant as the ultimate treatment option. Liver transplants are performed to replace damaged tissues with healthy ones. Transplantation of the whole liver is not always necessary and a specialist can discover indications, which can be:

Irreversible hepatic failure, a case where all medicinal or surgical treatments failed to correct the condition

Detection of early-stage liver cancer, which can’t be controlled with suitable treatments

Liver transplants in Children

In children, especially in newborns, a rare liver disease called ‘Biliary Atresia’ is found where the bile ducts that transport bile from the liver to the gall bladder, are left underdeveloped, causing trouble in digestion. Several children develop chronic jaundice or get affected with liver failure if it is not diagnosed on time. Often doctors try to conduct reconstructive surgery within initial months to correct the condition. If not, transplantation is suggested as a life-saving option.

Liver transplants in Adults

In adults, there are several environmental and lifestyle factors that lead to the need for a liver transplant. Commonly, chronic infection caused by viral Hepatitis B and C brings out the maximum cases of liver transplants. Other conditions, including acute hepatic necrosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, metabolic diseases, cancerous tumors necessitate a liver transplant.

Most of the liver failure conditions can be the result of reactions to medicines, drugs or toxins. Also, Cirrhosis is a debilitating condition that happens due to long term scarring of liver tissues, which may not cause liver failure at the outset but can affect the functioning leading to gradual organ damage which may require transplantation to treat the condition.

When the liver is damaged beyond the body’s capacity to regenerate, a specialist will suggest getting a liver transplantation done, as a last measure. All the reasons, requirements, and treatment vary with the patient’s age and severity of the disease. It is a complex procedure and needs specialist supervision to get it done rightly.