T86.41: Chronic decline in liver function post-transplant

You received a donor liver some time ago that no longer works properly.

The liver is an important organ on the top right of the abdomen. For example, it helps with blood clotting and detoxifying the body. Nutrients from food are processed in the liver. The liver also breaks down bile pigments. Bile pigments result when old blood cells are broken down.

When tissue is donated, the patient’s tissue and the donated tissue should be as similar to one another as possible. Otherwise the immune system may attack the donated tissue. For example, the immune system also fights altered body cells or disease pathogens. Therefore certain tissue characteristics are compared before a tissue donation. For example, one such characteristic of a tissue is the blood group.

There can be various reasons if a donor liver does not function properly. For example, it may be that the patient’s own immune system is fighting the donor liver. The kidney liver may then become inflamed and damaged. The liver may also not be properly supplied with blood.

You may have various ailments if the donor liver does not work properly. You may have no symptoms at first. For example, however, if the bile pigments are not broken down properly the skin may look yellow. Urine may look darker or the stool lighter. Sometimes you may also feel tired and weak. You may also have a fever and stomach pain, for example.