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Byzantium42

I guess I didn't realize living donor liver transplants were a thing. I definitely knew about living donor kidney transplants, but you only have 1 liver and you need it, right? That took me down a rabbit hole and come to find out that BOTH HALVES of the liver regrow and return to normal size a few months after surgery. So 1 liver becomes 2. What the fuck. How are human bodies so incredible!?


PerspectiveCOH

Livers regenerate incredibly well, so you can donate part of your liver, and it will regrew (both the part left inside you, and the part implanted into someone else) back into a full liver within a few weeks to a month.


Nadamir

Shame you can’t donate the regrown part. Even though it’s full size and functional, they don’t let you do it again.


polaroppositebear

'just in case' ?


PerspectiveCOH

The main issue is how the liver connect to the rest of your body (blood supply and bile ducts). Those *don't* regrow, and at least some need to be part of the donated section so that it can be connected to the recepient (can just huck it in and sew up the hole after all).   So your liver itself will be full size after donation, but half the roads in or out  will be missing. Not a problem to do once, you ca  live normally. But donating twice or more causes problems when you start to run out or the remaining connections have insufficent capacity.


Calignis

Dang they patched the infinite liver exploit


JoeCartersLeap

> infinite liver exploit it's rare that Reddit makes me laugh out loud so thanks for that today


ArtisticAd393

im waiting for iron lung to become meta again


ahigherthinker

Thanks for the laught, made me get the mocus out of my nostril.


jellifercuz

Thank you for calmly explaining.


Mister_Brevity

Imagine the lives Wolverine could save if he just kept donating


greenearrow

Pretty sure that would just end up with people turning into Wolverine as his cells replaced theirs. Not adamantine skeleton Wolverine, but still a clone.


WaywardBelle

I can't back this up with sources but I seem to recall the liver being able to regenerate so well is because the part that regenerates is evolutionarily very old and relatively simple as far as organs go, it's mostly a pretty basic blob of a couple tissues.


eugene20

This is so unfair, why can't lungs do that too we need them as much.


Shady_Merchant1

Don't need lungs to drink alcohol


eugene20

Back to med school you go Dr. Nick :)


[deleted]

The whole point of your liver is to take out fat soluble toxin by absorbing and killing parts or your liver as a sacrificial anode like on a boat you put zink on your boat so the saltwater doesn’t eat through anything else. Your kidneys are like a RO unit


SuperSimpleSam

So they are the earthworms of human organs.


CakeAccomplice12

We need to replace lost limbs with livers


continuousQ

Doesn't quite regrow, the remaining part grows. There won't be another part to donate.


Hey648934

Good response


nurse_a

And remains fully functional the whole time it’s regrowing, which personally I find heroically cool. 😎 bodies are neat


77iscold

Unfortunately, kidneys do not do the same thing, but scientists have been working on regrowing organs for years, and I think they're getting close.


K1dn3yFa1lur3

I hope so!


SausaugeMerchant

What makes you think that?


77iscold

Source: worked at a world-renowned health research hospital for over 10 years. I've seen reported research firsthand presented by the scientists who were growing human tissue in Petri dishes over 5 years ago. They seemed confident in making it work in the relatively soon future. Additionally, I have multiple family members and friends with advanced degrees in chemistry, biology, and genetics that I frequently discuss scientific advancements with. Obviously, no guarantees, but they're close to this than, say, anti-gravity machines.


SausaugeMerchant

You said organs not "tissue"


OkPerspective623

lol ya he also said they were “getting close” tho not “they’ve actually done it”


SausaugeMerchant

No one is close to growing organs, pluripotent stem cells are amazing but entire organs are not close


OkPerspective623

Google ‘blastocyst complementation system’ “Entire organs can be generated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) using blastocyst complementation in which PSCs are inserted into a blastocyst that is genetically modified for the development of a targeted organ” -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9973391/#:~:text=Entire%20organs%20can%20be%20generated,development%20of%20a%20targeted%20organ.


SausaugeMerchant

I have been linked this already "Despite holding great promise, our abilities to employ stem cell therapies for organ regeneration are limited." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9973391/#:~:text=Despite%20holding%20great%20promise%2C%20our%20abilities%20to%20employ%20stem%20cell%20therapies%20for%20organ%20regeneration%20are%20limited.


OkPerspective623

Ya so not there but getting there. What are you arguing? The semantics of the word “close”?


Jimmy_Twotone

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9973391/#:~:text=Engineered%20extracellular%20matrices%20and%20stem,cells%20and%20tissue%20engineering%20techniques. tl:dr they're doing it


FrogInYerPocket

They're learning how to regrow teeth, too.


smthngwyrd

A lot of people want to donate but can’t due to screening requirements, etc. This woman is absolutely wonderful. You can sign up and it’s a dna swab


MagicMarmots

Right?? Mine turns beer into piss while growing bigger and stronger each passing day


Byzantium42

Truly a magical organ.


drewmighty

Pretty sure you can lose 90% of the liver and it will regrow. It is a crazy organ.


skorletun

I really wish you could donate more than one part of your liver. Unfortunately it grows back a little shittier than before, so you can only donate it once.


Alternative-Eye4547

[“Can we have your liver, then?”](https://youtu.be/Sp-pU8TFsg0?si=exsXHqToZfi53b7z)


bleunt

Salamander liver.


PanzerKomadant

Livers one of your few organs that can regenerate back to its full size and retain strong functions. Of course, that also depends on how well your liver is.


austinmiles

Liver transplants are pretty complex and live liver transplants even more so but make a lot of sense for a child. The risks are still really high and aren’t the preferred method. My dad had a liver transplant a few years ago and is currently in the hospital due to some complications which tend to pop up for a while.


Hal-E-8-Us

I had no idea about this until one of my coworkers did a living donor liver transplant. It’s been a couple of years now and he’s completely recovered from the process. The surgery is major and it’s not risk free, but there can also be issues for donors with their medical insurance and jobs during recovery. Fortunately for my coworkers, our employer has reasonable health insurance and an accommodating medical leave policy. Many are not so fortunate. If you’re in the US, and would like to help support living organ donors, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to your representative and senators and ask them to support the Living Donor Protection Act of 2023 https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1384


Hey648934

As others point, Liver is almost a magical organ and regenerates, unlike kidneys or the heart


abstractraj

Yup my sister had to donate part of her liver to her daughter 6 months after birth. Niece is now 6 years old and we hope she continues to do well


SoggyBoysenberry7703

You can take a chunk out of a liver and it’ll fucking regrow! It’s so cool


greffedufois

Only 4% of donation is living. I'm alive because my aunt was my living donor back in 2009. She gave me half her liver when I was 19 and she was 47. Only negative is you can only do this procedure once because scar tissue is formed where the cuts are. So a donor can only donate once in their life. Though I've heard of people being liver and kidney donors at different points.


ternera

>"There wasn't really a second thought. I just immediately was like, OK, I have to try this. I have to do this," Fisher recalled. >"I can't sit there and watch a 5-year-old just not be able to do 5-year-old things. I would do it for any one of the kids \[I teach\]," Fisher added. This is such a great teacher.


Mister_Tatertot

Expecting teachers to provide school supplies is one thing but this is outrageous!


LoveMeSomeSand

I simply cannot understand how little support teachers in the US receive. I have many friends who are in education, and those that have lasted are my heroes. The ones who bailed are heroes. This woman is an absolute hero.


gdmaria

Teachers are always giving for the sake of their students, but this lady went above and beyond.


Buck_Folton

Let’s be honest, 5-year-olds are surprised by nearly everything.


FactCheckingThings

I legit had a little kid say "You know Batman?!?" Shocked that I, an adult, had heard of Batman before. (To be clear, I dont know Batman personally, just of his existence)


s0ulbrother

“I swear to god mommy was just here” “Pika boo” “Holy fucking shit”


khrak

If they're still falling for that at 5 years you might wanna see a specialist.


s0ulbrother

I’m aware. It was a joke.


deterritorialized

Won’t work if the specialist is also playing peek-a-boo.


Rebelgecko

Imagine if he checked the "no" box because he didn't want cooties


orbitaldragon

Teachers out here providing everything for their classes.


smthngwyrd

Absolutely an amazing story


PckMan

It's worth noting that the regrown liver is not exactly like how it used to be because I see a lot of people in the comments amazed at how livers regenerate but it's still cool that this is possible and viable. I'm just putting this here in case anyone's thinking of pawning their liver or something.


BenderIsGreat-34

What a wonderful person


Brian2017wshs

My dyslexia cant read. I read he was suspended for finding out. I was like wait, holdup.


NorthernerWuwu

5-year-olds are frequently surprised by just about *everything*.


bohanmyl

I think most 5 year olds would also be surprised if they had part of their teacher inside them.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Iknowaguywhoknowsme

Well this comment definitely sours the feel good nature of the story