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About Your Liver
 The liver is the largest and most important solid organ in the body. It serves many functions. There are four very important functions of the liver. The first is that the liver receives all of the blood and nutrients absorbed from the intestines, and processes these nutrients. Any toxins absorbed from the intestine are neutralized in the liver. The second function is the liver produces bile that is emptied into the intestine through bile ducts that connect the liver to the intestine. The bile is required to help the intestines digest all of the food you eat. The liver also produces almost all of the proteins found in your body. These proteins help your body perform many of its important functions like helping your blood to clot after you cut yourself, and helping your body to fight off infection. And finally, the liver detoxifies waste products produced by muscle and other organs. One of the most remarkable functions the liver performs is its ability to regenerate itself. If it is damaged or a portion is surgically removed, it will grow back to its normal size and function ability in a few weeks. This is extremely important for our living liver donors.
Chronic Liver Disease & Cirrhosis
Chronic liver diseases cause liver failure by damaging the liver over several decades. This type of liver failure is usually irreversible. Chronic liver diseases may progress to cirrhosis, which develops when normal liver cells are damaged , die and then are replaced by scar tissue. Because there are fewer healthy liver cells, the liver cannot work properly. However, only a minority of patients with these chronic liver diseases progress and develop cirrhosis. Types of chronic liver diseases include:
Cholestatic Liver Diseases
Cholestatic liver diseases usually involve problems with the excretion of bile from the liver.
- Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
- Secondary Biliary Cirrhosis
- Biliary Atresia
- Alagille's syndrome
Hepatocellular Liver Diseases
Hepatocellular liver diseases involve damage to liver cells.
- Chronic viral hepatitis (hepatitis B, C, D)
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Steatohepatitis (fatty liver)
- Cryptogenic cirrhosis
Vascular Diseases
Vascular diseases of the liver occur when the blood does not drain through the liver properly. This causes the liver to swell and malfunction. This process occurs in the following scenarios:
- Budd-Chiari syndrome
- Veno- Occlusive disease
Fulminant (Acute) Hepatic Failure
This type of liver failure occurs suddenly and is severe. Liver failure progresses rapidly, and without transplantation the death rate is high. Fulminant hepatic failure may be caused by:
- Viruses
- Wilson's disease
- Exposure to drugs or environmental toxins
- About 20% of patients the cause is never found
Liver tumors
Transplantation may be considered for treatment of primary liver tumors, also called hepatocellular carcinomas, and for hepatoblastoma limited to the liver.
Metabolic disorders
Liver transplantation can usually cure metabolic or genetic diseases that cause cirrhosis and liver failure. Such diseases include:
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Wilson's disease
- Hemochromatosis
- Tyrosinemia
- Glycogen storage disease
Reasons for Transplant
Liver failure occurs when the liver can no longer perform its many functions. You may experience fatigue and weakness. Fluid may build up in your legs and abdomen. You may develop bleeding into your stomach (varices) and you may get confused (encephalopathy).
Many diseases and conditions can cause liver failure. The most common disease that cause s liver failure is chronic viral hepatitis . Other common reasons for liver failure include chronic non-viral causes of hepatitis , chronic cholestatic liver disease, and fu lminant (acute) hepatic failure .
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