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(ABC 6 News) — A medical advance at Mayo Clinic could save the lives of many people waiting for a liver transplant.
Surgeons recently completed the first paired liver transplant. This means that living donors could only donate part of their liver to someone in need.
“The liver has an amazing ability to regenerate, so when we do this surgery, part of the liver is removed. The rest of the liver and the part that goes to the recipient immediately begins to grow, starting at about 3 to 30 minutes. Within four weeks, you'll have a full-sized liver,” Dr. Timsin Tanner explained.
Currently, approximately 10,000 people are waiting for a liver transplant in the United States alone.
