The liver is the largest internal organ in our body, weighing approximately 3 pounds. It is reddish brown and rubbery to the touch (WebMD, nd). Our liver is one of the most important organs in our body. It exists to process nutrients from the foods we eat, make proteins, make bile, and remove toxins. These processes can be disrupted due to liver failure, when the liver is damaged to such an extent that it will not function normally for months or years. The main causes of liver failure are hepatitis B, hepatitis C, long-term alcohol use, cirrhosis, and malnutrition (WebMD, n.d.). It is crucial that the affected person requests a liver transplant. A liver transplant is an operation in which the patient's damaged liver is replaced with a healthy liver from a donor.¬ There are three main types of liver transplantation: orthotopic transplantation, the most common type of transplantation, where the liver of the patient is replaced with a liver from a deceased donor; living donor transplantation, where a living person voluntarily donates their liver for the patient; and type of split liver transplantation: where the liver of a deceased donor is divided into two lobes and given to two recipients, applicable if the patients are an adult and a child (Mandal, nd. The United States of America performs at alone approximately 6,000 transplants per year (American Liver Foundation, 2013), and has performed 592,589 to date since 1988, according to OTPN (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network) statistics. chance and 78% chance of living one and three years respectively after one year However, there are more patients waiting than there are livers available So there are problems in deciding who would be one. suitable candidate for transplant. The timing...... middle of paper ...... on of Reasons for and Against Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 13(2), 181-184 Retrieved from http. ://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3006432/#__ffn_sectitleWalsh, F. (2013, March 15). “Warmed liver” transplant first. BBC News Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-21788533WebMD (nd). Health center for digestive disorders. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/picture-of-the-liverWebMD (nd). Liver failure. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-liver-failureZimmerman, MA, Wachs, M., Bak, T., and Kam, I. (nd). The History of Liver Transplantation at the University of Colorado: The Early Days of Living Donation. Retrieved from: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/departments/surgery/educati on/GrandRounds/Documents/GRpdfs/2007-2008/4-14-08%20Zimmerman.pdf