Living donor liver transplantation

In the financial year to 31 March 2023, living donor liver transplantation accounted for 3.6% of living transplantation activity in the UK. The remaining percentage activity was due to living donor kidney transplantation. All 7 liver transplant centres have emerging living donation programmes but the majority of transplants are currently performed in three centres; St James's University Hospital, Leeds, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and King's College Hospital, London.

Living donor liver transplants are performed in both adult and paediatric recipients but have been historically more common in paediatric recipients where the left lateral lobe is transplanted. The right lobe is transplanted in adult-adult transplants. The same criteria for registration onto the transplant list are applied to living liver recipients as for deceased donor organ recipients.

For information and guidance about the legislative framework and how it applies to living donor liver transplantation access the Human Tissue Authority website.

Participating centres have developed local protocols based upon UK best practice guidelines, which can be found on the British Transplantation Society website. Individual transplant centres can be contacted through the NHSBT Organ Donation website.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation Project (LDLT) - Commenced April 2022

The Living Donor Liver Transplantation (LDLT) project is aligned with the 'UK Organ Donation and Transplantation Strategy 2030: Meeting the Need' and aims to deliver a UK-wide programme that improves access to LDLT as one of a range of transplant options for adults and children with end-stage liver disease.

You can access the Terms of Reference (ToR) (PDF 198KB) here.

LDLT Project

LDLT Wider Engagement Event - 10th February 2023:

Living Donor Liver Transplantation (LDLT) Proctor Team

This multi-disciplinary Proctor Team has been established under the auspices of the LDLT Project to facilitate the expansion of adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation across the UK. This is a time-limited initiative, endorsed by the clinical community and patient representatives. It is funded by commissioners, to improve access to LDLT for suitable recipients and their living donors.

The Proctor Team will work with any existing liver transplant centre that wishes to expand their adult-to-adult LDLT programme, providing individualised support for the local team to become self-sufficient in all aspects of the LDLT pathway, including donor and recipient selection, preparation, surgery and follow-up.

The following resources have been developed to support the Proctor Team and local transplant teams to deliver this initiative. Latest versions and additional documents will be added to this concertina as they become available.

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