how do partial transplants work? (Ex. Jimmy gives 70% of his liver to Susie, what does that 70% refer to? Is the organ left open? Do they cut off 70% and close it up?)

Question

how do partial transplants work? (Ex. Jimmy gives 70% of his liver to Susie, what does that 70% refer to? Is the organ left open? Do they cut off 70% and close it up?)

In: 2

Answer 1

In the case of a liver, yes, they literally cut off a chunk of a liver and transplant it. That’s because livers are amazingly regenerative.

But you can have othe partial transplants, like a lung, because lungs are subdivided into two or three sections, and one or two of those sections can be relatively safely removed. They do not regenerate, though.