Living Donor Liver Transplant Program

At UCSF, our transplant team has performed thousands of liver transplants, offering a second chance at life for patients with end-stage liver failure. Most transplanted livers come from deceased donors, but increasingly our patients choose to receive a portion of a liver – all that's needed to save their life – donated by a living relative or friend.

The UCSF Living Donor Liver Transplant Program supports transplant recipients and donors through the complete process of evaluation, transplantation and recovery. Each patient's treatment team includes surgeons, hepatologists, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, dietitians, social workers and other providers who specialize in caring for liver transplant patients and living donors.

Advantages of living liver donation

Living donation has many benefits for liver transplant recipients. They can expect to:

• Receive a new liver sooner, meaning less opportunity for their disease to progress and better chances for transplant success.
• Undergo the procedure while in better health, rather than waiting for a higher model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score to qualify for the national waiting list.
• Plan for their surgery, rather than rush to the hospital when a matching deceased donor liver becomes available.

Because of these advantages, we encourage all liver transplant patients to seek out living donors among their family members and friends. Loved ones who aren't themselves prospective donors can help spread the word. We know some patients find it hard to advocate for themselves in this way, and we're here to support them through the process.

Becoming a living liver donor

Living liver donation is possible because a healthy liver can regenerate itself in about eight weeks. That, combined with technological innovations, means many people are able to safely donate a portion of their liver to save the life of a friend or family member.

Potential donors must meet certain basic requirements to be eligible and complete the entire evaluation process to donate.

To learn more about the process, please read our guide to living liver donation or contact our Liver Transplant Program.

If you're interested in becoming a donor, get the application process started by filling out our confidential health history questionnaire:

Apply to become a donor

Why UCSF?

UCSF is one of the leading U.S. medical centers performing liver transplants with living donors and the only center in Northern California with an active adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant program. We've done hundreds of these procedures since our first adult-to-adult living liver transplantation in 2000.

Our Liver Transplant Program, designated a center of excellence by the Department of Health and Human Services, is known for outstanding outcomes and for having pioneered techniques to make transplantation safer and more successful.

We have clinics throughout the Bay Area and beyond, ensuring that many transplant patients can get care close to home.