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Liver transplant conspiracy?

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posted on Sep, 14 2007 @ 07:13 PM
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When a person has liver issues like cirrhosis they will require a transplant but also have an option of obtaining a "living donor transplant" is a suitable and willing donors is found.

The procedure involves removing 75% (or close to that cant remember) of the donors liver and transplanting it into the patient. The donors liver regenerates itself and in a few months it will grow back to its normal size.

Now my question is, if the donors liver regenerates in such a short period of time so for example why not remove a portion of a liver diseased by cirrhosis and let it regenerate and grow a healthy portion of itself?

I think the pharmaceutical company's won't allow it because otherwise they would loose all of the revenue of people that are required to take anti rejection drugs for a lifetime. Opinions?



posted on Sep, 14 2007 @ 11:39 PM
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Well, it does not really work that way.

cirrhosis is sort of a global liver injury and even the liver can get to the point of no return. So you would have to take the lobe out and keep it going while the person destroyed thier liver (alcohol, heppatitis, short gut syndrom in children et al.) and then transplant it back in. It just wont work because you cannot keep the liver that long.

A healthy liver will grow back and we see alot of "living related" donors esp in peiatrics. A parent will donate a lobe and it will then grow with the child. Also for regular organ donation a liver is often 'split with the larger portion going to an adult and the smaller lobe to a child.

Yes in some cases the liver will grow back and there is some literature from MD's in the UK adding a split liver for patients who overdosed on Tylenol, let the damaged liver heal, and then take out the donor organ. But it can only be done under very limited ocnditions etc.



posted on Sep, 15 2007 @ 06:34 AM
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Maybe my time frame was off but apparently donors can achieve full regeneration within 6 months source
So that means we could remove a part of the dissed liver and have it regenerate, if the need should arise we could keep the patient alive by using a bioartificial liver, source
I really don't see why this cant be done.



 
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