Thanks to the dedication and generostiy of our donors, the Canadian Liver Foundation continues to support education programs and medical research into the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of liver disease.
Help us fund more research to find treatment and cures for liver disease. Signing your donor card and talking to your family is something you can do today to help people on the waiting list for liver transplants but supporting liver research is how you can help ensure that in the future fewer people actually end up on the waiting list.
The following are some facts and statistics regarding liver transplants in Alberta:
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Liver Transplant is a life saving option for many patients and the results in Alberta are excellent:
- Since the program began in 1989, a total of 1069 patients have received liver transplant in Alberta
- Survival after liver transplant is excellent with 76% of adults and 83% of children being alive 5 years after surgery
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Liver Transplant is important for both adults and children with liver disease:
- 13 children and 59 adults (>18 yrs old) received LT in Alberta in 2010
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The need for Liver Transplants greatly exceeds the available resources
- In 2010, 180 patients were assessed for liver transplant in Edmonton
- There were 118 patients on the waiting list as of December 31, 2010
- Only 72 patients received organs in 2010
- 60 were from cadaveric organs and 12 were from live donors (2 pediatric recipients, 10 adult recipients)
- The average waiting time was 260 days to receive their transplant (some waited more than 4 years)
- With longer waiting times patients are sicker (with higher MELD scores) at time of transplant and therefore longer times to recover after surgery
- 26 patients died awaiting liver transplant in 2010 and already 9 patients have died on the wait list in the first two months of 2011
