Welcome to another edition of Daily MedSorter’s Health Bulletin where we strive to make health topics easy to understand. In today’s edition, we’ll take a look at the liver’s ability to heal itself.
The liver is the only organ in the human body that repairs itself even after being damaged. Even if 75% of your liver cells are damaged, the liver will repair itself with 25% of its own.
The liver is the most important part of our body. From digesting food to making bile in our body, it is our liver that does the work. The liver acts as a bodyguard in our body and it prepares our body to fight infection.
The liver also performs the function of removing toxic substances from our bodies. At the same time, it also controls our body temperature. The liver also provides energy to our body by converting carbohydrates into glucose.
In the body, it is located in the right upper part of the abdomen, below the diaphragm. The liver separates all the nutrients present in our food and transports these nutrients to different parts according to the need of the body. The liver is also said to be a treasure trove of proteins and vitamins, which the liver delivers to the body when it is needed.
The liver of people who have cirrhosis is so damaged that the liver loses its ability to develop itself again, this condition is also called liver failure. Now you must be wondering what is cirrhosis. Simply put, liver cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease because it takes a long time to develop.
In the beginning, the liver disease begins with fatty liver disease. From fatty liver disease to cirrhotic liver disease, it can take up to 10 years.
If there is an injury to the liver, it can also lead to fibrosis. Tissues begin to repair the problem in the liver and partially block blood flow to the liver. When this happens in the liver, it causes the healthy cells of the liver to start dying, due to which the liver is not able to function at its full capacity. A liver transplant may also be needed in the last stage.
A liver transplant requires a donor. Donor age should be between 18-55 for liver transplants. In this, the blood group of the donor should match the blood group of the patient. After this, all the tests related to the donor’s liver are done, in which the health, condition, and volume of the liver are all seen.
All these things are known through CT scans, MRIs, or blood reports. If it is ever felt that the donor’s liver is not healthy, then a biopsy is done to check it with the help of a microscope.
Now you must be thinking that how to know that the liver is healthy. Liver enzymes such as SGOT, SGPT, and bilirubin levels should all be normal. Too much fat should not be stored in the liver. The physical and mental health of the donor should be good. The donor’s weight should be healthy i.e. BMI less than 32.
When part of the liver is surgically removed and transplanted into the patient’s body, both parts of the liver grow back in six to eight weeks. Let me tell you that once liver damage occurs, there is no medical treatment for it. A liver transplant is the only way to cure it.
A liver transplant is a surgery in which a healthy liver is replaced by a healthy donor by removing the damaged liver of the patient. Now you must be thinking that what percentage of the donor’s liver will be removed. For an adult patient, the right side of the liver is removed, which is 50 to 60% of the entire liver.
Within 12 hours after the donor’s liver is removed, the process of making the liver begins.
Due to both the above reasons only 50-60 percent of the liver of any living person can be removed and transplanted into the patient’s body. At such a time, the remaining liver of the donor can continue normal functioning in his body.
Liver donation is a very safe operation and there is no risk to the donor. Any healthy man or woman can do a liver donation.
After donating half a liver, you need better care for a few days. After surgery, it becomes very important to have a balanced diet. This allows you to recover quickly. Overeating or carelessness during this time can increase your weight, high blood pressure, and sugar and cholesterol, which can be harmful to the transplanted organ.
Apart from this, get regular checkups and after some time with regular routine, get involved in your daily activities. You can lead a normal life after having a liver transplant. 90% of patients return to work within 3 months and are able to do all their normal activities.
After the transplant, liver patients will never be able to drink alcohol for the rest of their lives. A little alcohol is enough to damage the new liver and it is not possible to save the new liver if it is damaged again.
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