Receiving a bowel transplant
Find out what you need to know about donation issues and bowel transplantation
Key points
- The majority of bowels are donated by deceased donors
- All donated organs carry some risk, but this is generally lower than the risk of continuing intravenous feeding
Types of bowel donor
Deceased donors
Almost all bowels that are suitable for transplantation in the UK come from donors that have died. At present, these are from donors who have been declared dead through brain testing.
Living donors
It is possible to remove a part of the bowel from a living donor. The removed part can be transplanted into a much smaller patient who needs a bowel transplant. These operations have many risks and are not routinely performed in the UK at present.
Register to donate
In the UK, at the end of 2023/2024, 13 adult patients were on the waiting list for a bowel transplant. Organ donation is when someone has agreed to give a part of their body to someone else who needs it. It’s an amazingly generous act that helps to save thousands of lives each year.
