Originally posted by: ThaGrandCow
Long story short:
-Father having more and more complications due to Hepatitis C. Liver expected to fail soon.
-Father VERY low on list to get a transplant (due to age, weight, other factors)
-He went back into the hospital tonight for more complications.
My stepmom just called me and told me what's going on. She then also told me that the doctors are recomending that my father find a "living donor" to give part of their liver, as he has very little chance of qualifying for one before his current fails completely. I said yes, I'd do anything I could (I'm a compatible blood type and being a direct genetic relation helps a lot) but I'm still pretty freaked out right now. I'll know more when I get back from drill on Sunday night (his test results come back about 2 hours after I leave for the field training this weekend).
One thing that scares me though, as a military person they place emphasis on having (for lack of a better word) "no defects." Does anyone in the military know if this is going to make me non-eligible for my enlistment anymore? I know that they have medical leave that will go up to 6 months, and my step mother told me that it would take about 6 months to heal back to my full liver. If I have to go under the knife I hope I won't have to give up my career as a Marine
I did a research paper last semester in college about stemcells and one of my sources:
Title: Clonal identification and characterization of self-renewing pluripotent stem cells in the developing liver.
Author, Editor, Inventor: Suzuki-Atsushi; Zheng-Yun-wen; Kaneko-Shin; Onodera-Masafumi; Fukao-Katashi; Nakauchi-Hiromitsu {a}; Taniguchi-Hideki
Source: Journal-of-Cell-Biology. [print] January 7, 2002; 156 (1): 173-184.
Publication Year: 2002
Document Type: Article-
Language: English
Abstract: Using flow cytometry and single cell-based assays, we prospectively identified hepatic stem cells with multi-lineage differentiation potential and self-renewing capability. These cells could be clonally propagated in culture where they continuously produced hepatocytes and cholangiocytes as descendants while maintaining primitive stem cells. When cells that expanded in vitro were transplanted into recipient animals, they morphologically and functionally differentiated into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes with reconstitution of hepatocyte and bile duct structures. Furthermore, these cells differentiated into pancreatic ductal and acinar cells or intestinal epithelial cells when transplanted into pancreas or duodenal wall. These data indicate that self-renewing pluripotent stem cells persist in the developing mouse liver and that such cells can be induced to become cells of other organs of endodermal origin under appropriate microenvironment. Manipulation of hepatic stem cells may provide new insight into therapies for diseases of the digestive system.
Accession Number: 200200043926
Update Code: 20020219
was about the insain regenerative nature of the liver and explained it through hepatic stem cells. The beginning of the introduction reads "The enormous regenerative capacity of the liver after partial hepatectomy [excision of the liver or of part of the liver] or chemical injury is very well known. In rodents, liver weight returns to normal within weeks even after loss of up to two-thirds of total liver mass."
so it appears that you should be back to normal after 6 months
Facebook
Twitter