Liver transplantation is an operation to remove a diseased liver and replace it with a healthy donor liver. If your liver has stopped working properly (e.g. liver failure) and other treatments have not helped, a liver transplant may be needed to extend your life. There are three main stages to a liver transplant: 1. Evaluation – To determine if you need and are a good candidate for a liver transplant, a number of imaging and blood tests will be performed to further evaluate the situation. 2. Waiting for a donor – If you are a good candidate for a transplant, you will need to wait for a healthy donor liver to become available, which may take several months or even longer. 3. Undergoing surgery – When a liver becomes available, you will go into hospital for surgery to remove the damaged liver and replace it with a healthy donor liver. Life after a liver transplant If a liver transplant is performed successfully, most people are eventually able to resume their normal activities thereafter; some patients may take a year or more to fully recover. After a liver transplant, you will need to: Take immunosuppressants for a long time to stop your body from attacking the new liver Have regular checkups to see how well your body is doing and to check how well the new liver is working Stay healthy – including eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly Most people live more than 10 years after a liver transplant, and many live up to 20 years or more. Risks and complications Liver transplantation is a major operation and carries a risk of serious complications, which may occur in the short or long term, or even years after the operation. Some of the major complications and risks of liver transplantation include: The body’s immune system keeps attacking the transplanted liver (rejection) The new liver doesn’t work properly (graft failure) Blockage of the bile ducts or biliary fistulae Side effects of immunosuppressants-such as an increased risk of infections and kidney disease Liver transplantation is recommended only if the risk of not having a liver transplant is greater than the risk of having one.