The liver is the largest organ in the body and performs six major functions:

1. Bile production. Bile is essential to the digestion and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins, and many waste products are eliminated from the body by the secretion of bile.
2. Carbohydrate metabolism. The liver regulates carbohydrates, a major energy source. It stores them during the fed state and releases them during the fasting state in order to maintain normal blood glucose.
3. Fat metabolism.  Through B-oxidation of fatty acid and the production of lipoproteins.
4. Plasma protein synthesis.
5. Urea metabolism.
6. Disposal of toxic substances.

Liver disease may remain asymptomatic for a long time. Eventually, acute or chronic decompensation will become evident with jaundice, ascites, cachexia, extreme fatigue and damage to target organs, such as brain, kidney, lung, and heart. At this point, only liver transplantation can be life saving. In addition, an increasing number of patients with cirrhosis develop liver cancer. For some, liver transplantation represents the best treatment.

Visit the health content at Yale Medical Group to read more general health information about the liver and transplantation.

At the Yale-New Haven Transplantation Center, livers for transplantation can come from:

• Cadaver donors – The donor liver is obtained from a person who has died and whose organs are being donated for transplantation.
• Living donors – A family member (such as a parent, sibling or child) or an unrelated donor (such as a spouse) volunteers to donate part of their liver for transplantation.

The physicians, nurses and staff affiliated with the liver transplantation program are experts in transplantation surgery techniques, anti-rejection (immunosuppressant) drugs, post-transplant care, and the management of related health conditions of patients with liver disease.