Help : Advice & Information from a Transplanted Patient
UPDATED 2-12-2010
Time in London -
THIS WEBSITE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL BIRMINGHAM (UK)
 LIVER SUPPORT GROUP
LIVER TRANSPLANTS
My own personal view of the liver transplant process;
 Thank You, for visiting my website. I hope that by reading about my liver transplant it will give you some help, encouragement and support if you are having to face a liver transplant yourself.To find the topics contained in this website please select INDEX on the main menu, there is animation in this site and therefore if pages do not load correctly please allow pop ups and turn off blocker. I trust you will find your visit enlightening.
INTRODUCTION
Let me introduce myself. My name is Alan, ( photo above ) and I reside in the UK. My Liver Transplant operation was performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham (UK) in August 1999. This website has been set up in the hope that it may be of help to other people who have had, or are facing a Liver Transplant. Please read my story below. If you would like to get in touch for any possible help or advice that I may be able to give you, please feel free to do so. I am also a member of the Liver Support Group at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, My contact details above.
DISCLAIMER. Please note I am NOT medically qualified or have any medical experience so cannot answer questions relating to medical conditions. All information contained in this website has been obtained from information and literature provided by hospitals and other resources. Medications and procedures are advancing all the time and it is advisable to contact your own doctor/consultant for further information. It is intended only as a guide for liver patients and their carers. E&OE.
I am just a person who was fortunate enough to have received a Liver Transplant.
To see photographs of how I looked before and after transplant please see PHOTO GALLERY.
 This website is for worldwide use but some aspects of the site may only be relevant to UK residents and some procedures may differ in your own country. It is intended only as a guide. 
A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT MY MEDICAL CONDITION.
When everything is functioning well everything is taken for granted, but when things start to go wrong that is a different matter as I found out only too well myself ! I had been ill for about four years with a constant swelling of the stomach (called Ascites) and severe weight loss. This eventually led to a consultation with a professor at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. After numerous tests and a biopsy I was informed that I needed a liver transplant. My first reaction was: could I go through with this?, how would I cope? But without it I had only been given a maximum of 2 years to live. With no future at all to look forward to and the thought of not seeing my very young son grow up, the decision was made to go ahead with this, and being only 49 years of age I owed this to my wife and son. I was then put on a transplant list and was on call 24 hours a day waiting for a suitable donor. From then on, every time the phone rang the thought went through my mind was it the hospital with the news I had been waiting for?. After approximately two months such a call was received. I made my way to the hospital and after undergoing various tests to make sure I was well enough for the operation I was then informed that the donor liver was not up to the standard required for transplantation. This was certainly a big setback after the emotions of preparing for the operation, but it was explained at my initial assessment that this situation may arise. After returning home, life tried to go on as normal, still waiting for that phone call. As time went by, my condition was slowly deteriorating and the thought often went through my mind would a donor be found in time before I was too ill to withstand the operation?
OPERATING DAY INTENSIVE CARE AND POST OPERATION.
Some four months later another call was received. This time, I hoped and prayed that everything would go ahead. Again I had to have various tests and was passed fit to undergo the transplant. The donor liver this time was very good and the operation was to proceed. No turning back now and it was at this point that I started asking myself questions, would the operation be successful? How would it change my life? Who had just died to give me another chance of life?. The operation itself took over 7 hours, after which I was transferred to the I.T.U. (intensive therapy unit). This was a very worrying time as the next few hours were critical, would there be any signs of rejection? This is quite common in most people but with various drugs this can usually be counteracted. After approximately 36 hours I was transferred to the High Dependency Unit under constant medication and monitoring. My stay in here was for 4 days. I was still feeling very weak and sore but grateful that it was all over. I was then moved onto a general ward and after getting my mobility back I was allowed home after just 8 days, thankful to be alive. I now have regular check-ups, and medication every day but this is a small price to pay in order to have my life back again. Words alone cannot express my heartfelt thanks to the donor and all the medical staff for their help and support during this trying time in my life. A special thanks to all the donors in the past who have donated their organs for transplantation to give someone else the chance of a new life. May god bless you all. I hope that anyone who is reading this and is awaiting a transplant has been reassured after being given an insight into my own experience. If I can be of any assistance or help in any way please feel free to get in touch with me, It would be lovely to hear from you. If you would like to get in touch my contact details are ..... Email If any of you are thinking about becoming a donor I hope that reading about my experience has shown you what a very precious gift it would be. I hope that this website has been of value to any patient awaiting transplantation.
Sincerely,
Alan.
WHAT IS A LIVER TRANSPLANT ?
Liver transplantation is the surgical replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver. The indication for this operation is end-stage liver disease, characterized by patients suffering from reduced liver function, muscle loss, fatigue, encephalopathy, signs of portal hypertension, poor blood clotting and jaundice A variety of liver diseases can lead to end-stage liver disease. There are generally two main categories: those cases caused by viruses (Hepatitis B and C) and/or alcohol and those caused by problems concerning the bile ducts (primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). There are other causes of end-stage liver disease, but they are less frequent. Prior to transplantation a liver transplant team evaluates potential liver recipients.
FUNCTIONS OF THE LIVER.
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Converts food into chemicals necessary for life and growth. Production of certain proteins and growth factors. Prevents shortages in body fuel by storing sugars, vitamins and minerals.
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Aids the digestive process by producing bile.
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Digests fat.
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Neutralises and destroys poisons.
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Controls the production and excretion of cholesterol.
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Maintains hormone balance.
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Storage of glycogen, Iron & blood clotting factors.
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Conversion of glycogen to glucose if energy is needed.
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Regenerates its own tissue.
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Helps the body resist infection by producing immune factors.
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Detoxification of many harmful chemicals.Chemical modification of certain drugs used to treat disease.
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Recycling contents of old blood cells and cleansing the blood.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LIVER
The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body, weighing about three pounds (1.5kg) and is nearly as big as a rugby ball and is nearly conical in shape. It lies next to the stomach in the upper right part of the abdomen below a thin sheet of muscle known as the diaphragm.The liver is the body's chemical factory with over 100 complex functions. It is second only to our brain in its complexity and is vital for life. The liver fights infection, makes essential chemicals and filters poisons. The liver has many vital functions, these include storing sugars and releasing them into the blood or converting them into useful chemicals, building proteins, and cleaning the blood of poisons before disposing of them in bile (digestive liquid secreted by the liver). The heat produced from all of these activities helps to maintain your temperature, it has an amazing capacity to regenerate itself, and will function normally with only a small portion in working order and you can survive with only half a liver. It is a very uncomplaining organ - if it is not working properly you may not even know. The first liver transplant was performed in 1963. In the early days this was a difficult operation which was only carried out in a few centres. In the last few years important advances have greatly improved the success of the operation and more people are being treated.
WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE GALL BLADDER? 
The gall bladder is that part of the digestive system which stores and secretes the bile salts that are used in the process of breaking down food into its adsorptive components. A lack of these salts leads to malabsorption maladies.The gall bladder is located on the right side of the body and is connected to the biliary tract system by the cystic duct.
When we eat, bile is added to the food as it passes out into the duodenum. Bile is stored in the gallbladder, which serves reservoir of bile. When we eat, fatty foods, the gallbladder contracts and pushes extra bile out through the common bile duct and into the duodenum. Bile breaks the fatty material of food into tiny fragments that can be more easily absorbed by the intestine
WHAT IS A GALL STONE AND HOW ARE THE STONES FORMED IN THE GALLBLADDER?
Gall stone is the stone which develops inside the cavity of gallbladder, they are lumps of solid material and resemble small stones or gravel, although some can be as large as pebbles, most are the size of a pea and can take years to develop.There are basically two types of gallstones. Most gallstones that occur in western civilizations are composed primarily of cholesterol. Therefore, ingestion of too much cholesterol is considered a risk factor. For women, the risk of cholesterol gallstones increases with age, use of oral contraceptive, rapid weight loss, family history of diabetes mellitus, and inflammatory bowel disease (Chrohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis). The other types of stones are called pigmented stones. These are composed primarily of calcium bilirubinate. This is found in people who suffer from chronic hemolytic (the destruction of blood cells) states such as sickle cell disease. It is also commonly found in Asian and African populations. A family history of gallstones also increases the risk of stoneformation. In many cases, more than one of these factors plays a roll, but some people form stones without any known risk factors. Around 5 million people in the U.K. approximately 10 per cent of the population, develop gallstones or another gallbladder disease at some time in there lives.
INHERETED LIVER DISEASE
It is possible to be born with a liver disease which may not produce symptoms until adulthood. Haemochromatosis disease is one example.Haemochromatosis is an inherited metabolic disorder in which the body absorbs and stores more iron from food than it actually needs. It can prove fatal if not recognised and treated early enough. For many years haemochromatosis was thought to be rare. But recent research has discovered that the disease is much more common than first realised. In fact it is one of the commonest inhereted disease among people of northern european origin and is estimated to affect 1 in 300. Wilson's disease is also inhereted and causes excessive amounts of copper to accumulate in the body. Copper, unlike other damaging metals such as lead and mercury, is essential to health.However, in Wilson's disease the body's inability to get rid of the excess results in an accumulation of copper in several organs. The liver is the first organ to store copper. When its storage capacity is exhausted, the overflow passes from the liver to the bloodstream and is carried to other organs, including the brain and the cornea of the eye. In a few cases the copper accumulation can result in psychiatric disorders or physical symptoms such as slurred speech, drooling or tremors.
 For visiting my website, I hope that you have found the site of interest and help to you, and that it has given you the hope, reassurance and support of facing a liver transplant. And a very special thank you also to all the medical team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (UK ) who saved my life for which I will be eternally grateful, and I would like to dedicate this website to them and to all medical personel throughout the world, God bless you all. Thank you to all donors past and present for your kind generosity, being a member of the transplant support team I see a lot of very poor people desperately in need of a transplant. When the transplant is done just for them to be able to live a normal life once again says it all.Without Donors there can be No Transplants.
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