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Why is liver transplantation used for end-stage liver disease?

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Kidney transplant — transplant British surgeon Andrew Ready flushing a donated kidney during a transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England, 2006.

Liver transplantation is used for end-stage liver disease because the liver serves as a vital "chemical factory" responsible for producing essential blood-clotting factors and removing toxic waste products from the body. When the liver fails, there is no available treatment comparable to the artificial kidney used for renal failure; therefore, the organ must function immediately after transplantation to sustain the patient's life.1

This surgical intervention is primarily indicated for two categories of fatal conditions:
* Nonmalignant destructive diseases: Chronic conditions such as cirrhosis, which involves permanent scarring and tissue damage.12
* Primary liver cancer: Malignancies affecting the main liver cells or the bile ducts.1

While the procedure is complex and carries a mortality rate of approximately 10 to 20 percent, it has successfully restored many patients to a normal existence. Following the surgery, recipients must commit to long-term immunosuppressive therapy to prevent organ rejection.13