Liver Transplant

Conditions and Treatments

The liver, the largest organ in the body, is located on the right side behind your rib cage. It has many functions including processing proteins, fats and carbohydrates and breaking down toxic substances such as drugs and alcohol.

The liver makes the chemical components that help blood to clot. If the liver fails, the body loses the ability to clot blood as well as to process nutrients needed for life.

The liver also excretes a yellow digestive juice called bile, which may accumulate if the liver is not functioning properly. The eyes may become "jaundiced" or yellow or the skin may itch from the accumulated bile. Some medications help treat the symptoms of liver failure, but there are no drugs that "cure" liver failure.

If your child's liver begins to fail, he or she may be eligible for a liver transplant that could involve a relatively new procedure called a "living donor" transplant.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007