About your donor


Why it’s important to know some medical information about your donor

Key points

  • You will need to know basic medical information about your donor
  • The health of your donor may influence the health of the liver that is being donated to you, which may affect your health
  • Some donated livers are likely to work for longer than others
  • All donated livers carry some risk, though in general this is much lower than the risk from your liver disease

What do you need to know about your donor?

There are many things that can affect how well a donated liver will work after a transplant. The health of your donor and their liver is one of them.

All donated organs carry some risk, but this will vary from donor to donor. In general, this risk is much lower than the risks posed by your liver disease.

Learn about the risks from a donated liver

Gathering information about deceased donors

This is not always straightforward and it can sometimes be difficult to gather health information about a deceased donor. This is because:

  • We cannot ask deceased donors about their previous health
  • Donors may not have told their loved ones or GP about their health issues
  • There may only be a short time available to carry out tests on the donor 

Learn more about receiving a liver

Answers to common questions



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