A Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplant Program is active at ISMETT. This is a valid therapeutic option for children who cannot afford long periods of time on the waiting lists. Generally it is a family member, often one of the child’s parents or a close relative who is selected to donate a small portion of his or her liver.

The benefits for the transplanted child are many, the post-operative period is usually simpler and requires a hospital stay of approximately three weeks.

At ISMETT the organ and patient survival rate three years from surgery is 100%.

Living donor liver transplants allow children to receive a new organ without having to be included on the waiting list, hence avoiding the risk of worsening their conditions which could make surgery more risky and increase the chances of complications.

A pediatric living donor liver transplant involves procuring the left side of the donor’s liver and transplanting it into the child recipient.

Living related transplants are possible thanks to the ability of the liver to regenerate. After only a few weeks the liver returns to its original pre-transplant size, both in the donor and in the recipient.

Today the average length of stay of a child undergoing a living donor liver transplant is between 6 and 8 days. Last year, ISMETT was the center with the highest number of pediatric living donor liver transplants performed.