Bowel transplant FAQs

Life expectancy for patients with bowel transplants is very variable depending on age and other medical issues.

Please discuss this with the team caring for you.

This depends on the type of transplant needed.

If a liver transplant is also needed with the bowel transplant, 75 out of 100 adult patients are alive 1 year following the transplant surgery. After 5 years, 60 out of 100 adult patients are still alive.

If a liver transplant is not needed, 84 out of 100 adult patients are alive 1 year following the transplant surgery. After 5 years, 69 out of 100 adult patients are still alive.

Click here for sources on the above data

All decisions on transplantation are made on a case-by-case basis. If you have concerns that you might be too old for a bowel transplant, please discuss this with your care team.

This depends on how urgent the operation is, your age and many other factors. On average, adults wait about 6 months for a bowel transplant.

Sadly, about 10 to 15 in 100 patients die while they are waiting to receive a bowel transplant or need to be permanently removed from the list due to worsening health.

Learn more about waiting times

You can expect to be in hospital for 3 to 8 weeks after a bowel transplant.

The first few days are spent in the intensive care unit to allow the extensive monitoring that is required.

If other organs are needed as part of the transplant then this time can be much longer.

Learn about recovering from a bowel transplant

Everyone recovers at a different rate after a bowel transplant. Once the first few months after your operation have passed, it is likely that your bowel function will improve and you won’t need to come to the transplant clinic as often.

After the first 6 months the risk of transplant rejection is lower and your medications will usually reduce.

Learn about living with a bowel transplant

As with any major operation, there is a risk of dying. However, this varies widely on a patient-by-patient basis.

Learn about the risks of a bowel transplant

This can happen with some patients and is known as 'recurrence'. The risk of recurrence depends on your original disease.

Please ask your transplant team for more information.

Yes, but this is rare and will depend on your original bowel disease and why the transplant stops working.

Please ask your transplant team for more information.

Yes, this is possible. Your general health will be taken into account.

Please consider recording your wishes on organ donation in the national register.

Register to donate

Between 20 to 30 bowel transplants are carried out each year in the UK.

Click here for the source of the data above

In the UK, about 10 people are waiting for a bowel transplant.

Click here for the source of the data above

The transplant centre in which the surgery takes place can depend on your age and which type of transplant you need.

• Cambridge (Addenbrooke's Hospital) do bowel transplants for adults and for those adults who also need a liver transplant.

• Oxford (Churchill Hospital) do bowel transplants for adults.

• King’s College Hospital (London) do bowel transplants for children and for those children who also need a liver transplant.

• Birmingham Children's Hospital do bowel transplants for children and for those children who also need a liver transplant.