Can we live without a liver?

It keeps our bodies toxin-free by filtering roughly 1.5 quarts of blood every minute.

Weighing roughly 3 pounds on average, the liver is a 4-lobed organ. It is also the largest glandular organ in the body and has some rather incredible functions that help to keep us alive.

The liver is located in the right side of the body in the upper quadrant of the abdomen. The liver is protected by the lower ribs as it is a delicate organ.

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It keeps our bodies toxin-free by filtering roughly 1.5 quarts of blood every minute. With all of the potentially dangerous pathogens and toxins in the blood, without this critical function, we wouldn’t last very long. Beyond that, the liver is also responsible for producing bile, which is crucial for digestion. It also helps to clot the blood, thus preventing internal bleeding. Finally, the liver even produces certain proteins that the body needs for proper metabolic activity.

While life without a liver wouldn’t immediately be fatal, it would be an unpleasant road towards certain death. Most estimates say that without a liver, most people wouldn’t survive for more than a year. Unfortunately, sometimes a liver may need to be removed, which makes liver transplants and donations extremely important.

The most notable causes of liver replacement or partial removal include benign liver masses, hepatocellular carcinoma (leads to primary liver cancer), metastatic malignancies of the liver (migrated cancer cells from other infected organ systems), or cirrhosis of the liver (commonly caused by excessive, long-term alcohol consumption).

While it can be easy to match up donors for other organs that may not be the ‘perfect’ match, the tissue rejection rate for livers is higher than in many other organs. This means that far more tests and analysis need to be done before a donor liver can be matched with a patient in need of a replacement.

While many organs have the power to heal themselves and even regenerate small portions, the liver has a remarkable ability to grow back, even when part of it has been removed. Therefore, when it comes to partial liver removals, the patient is often spared the challenge of finding a donor. The human liver can be cut down to 25% of its original size and still function properly for the human body. Over time, the remaining 75% of the liver will regrow, eventually leaving the patient with a completely healthy liver.

If a person needs a complete liver transplant, a close relative can donate a part of their liver (30-40%). Provided there is no tissue rejection, both will have a fully functional liver that is 100% normal size.

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