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Why must a transplanted liver begin functioning immediately?
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transplant
British surgeon Andrew Ready flushing a donated kidney during a transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England, 2006.
A transplanted liver must function immediately following surgery because there is no medical treatment available that can replicate the liver's complex biological roles, unlike the use of an artificial kidney for patients with kidney disease.1
The liver acts as a vital chemical factory within the body, performing essential tasks such as producing blood-clotting factors, metabolizing nutrients, and removing toxic by-products and wastes from the circulation. Because the organ is responsible for these critical life-sustaining functions, its failure to operate immediately after transplantation results in the death of the patient.12