When a suitable donor has been found
When a suitable donor has been found, you will be contacted and asked to activate the travel arrangements as discussed with the Liver Transplant Coordinator. The form of transport chosen for your journey to the hospital will depend upon your health and the distance travelled. Private cars are the usual first option. Ideally, you should travel with at least one member of your family, although this is not always possible.
Once the call has been received, you must commence fasting for surgery, that is, you must not have anything more to eat or drink.
When you arrive at the hospital, you should report to the Emergency Department. You should inform the staff that you have been called in to have a transplant.
Consent for surgery
At the time of entry on to the Waiting List or before, you will be required to sign a “Consent for an operation for liver transplantation”. A copy of this form can be found on the at the back of this booklet. It says the risks from the operation are three kinds. Firstly, although every effort has been made to screen the donor for transmissible disorders, there can be no guarantee that the donor did not have such a disorder. Secondly, the drugs required to control rejection have side effects specific for each drug. Thirdly, the complications of the operation itself include infection, bleeding, poor function and rejection of the liver. There is a possibility (currently about one in ten) of death. This information needs to be explained to you in detail before you sign the consent.
You will need to sign that you understand that liver transplantation is a treatment for liver failure, not a cure, and that you understand you will need to take drugs to suppress rejection indefinitely. You need to be satisfied with the explanation of the risks of liver transplant and discuss it further with your doctors if you need to. Signing of the consent form does not interfere with your legal rights in the event of negligence.
Cancellation of surgery
The fact that you have been called to the hospital does not guarantee that you will have a transplant. It is quite possible that you could be contacted on more than one occasion without the transplant going ahead.
Cancellation is usually necessary when the donor liver has been found to be unsuitable, or the match between you and the donor is not compatible. These facts can only be ascertained in the last hours before the transplant goes ahead. In these circumstances, it is in your best interest not to proceed with the surgery.