Watch: Living donor liver transplant is a complex, life-saving surgery

September 1, 2021

Parsia Vagefi, M.D. Surgery

There continues to be a critical shortage of deceased donor livers in the United States, meaning too many patients – upwards of 1,500 – die each year while waiting for an organ. UT Southwestern's Living-Donor Liver Transplant Program offers patients a life-saving option, while protecting the safety, health, and interests of donors.

The liver is a remarkable organ with the capacity to regenerate. That makes it possible to remove part of a healthy donor's liver – about 60 percent – and transplant it into a patient whose liver is failing or has failed. The liver segments in both the donor and recipient grow back to full size within a few weeks following surgery.

Living-donor liver transplant is a complex surgery, as you'll see in the video below, but UT Southwestern has a dedicated team of specialists who are proud to be able to offer this life-saving option to our patients. The UT Southwestern Liver Transplant Program is the largest in DFW and has the best one-year survival of any program in Dallas.