M.D. discusses liver transplants
By Linda Kern
Special to The Acorn

Dr. Sammy Saab

Dr. Sammy Saab, a transplant hepatologist (liver specialist) at the UCLA liver transplantation program, provided information and support to transplant recipients, their families and those awaiting transplantation during a recent question and answer program in Westlake Village.

The event was sponsored by Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO), Ventura County/West Valley chapter.

Saab, a gastroenterology Fellow of the Year and recipient of the 2002 Clinical Research Award from the American College of Gastroenterology, addressed current developments in liver transplants, stressed problems and concerns associated with the process, and furnished expertise to TRIO members.

Saab described the process that was developed to determine liver damage and to prioritize patients on a transplant waiting list. Because no single blood test tells how the liver is functioning, more information is necessary. UCLA established a priority system about a year ago in which severity was measured by three blood tests. The higher the number, the greater the severity.

The life expectancy of a transplant recipient is similar to that of the general population, Saab said. Compliance of the patient (taking good care of an organ that’s been transplanted) is vitally important. Responsibilities of a transplant patient include taking medication(s) and not skipping follow-up visits with physicians.

Recipients must also have a caregiver to be accepted. Family support is also very important, Saab said.

Jennifer Moore, who got a new liver in October, said she had a caretaker for two weeks after going home. Her biggest complaint wasn’t pain, but anxiety. Every day she worried about her body rejecting its new organ. After two weeks, she could get around and go outside.

Each recovery is different, Saab said. "A lot depends on how sick somebody is before transplantation."

Depression, fear and anxiety are common concerns. Not all patients are willing to admit what they’re feeling. It’s important for doctors to ask the right questions, Saab said. There are red flags regarding the mental outlook for all patients.

In 2001, Don Von Biela, 51, a TRIO member, received a living donor transplant from his nephew, age 26. Their blood types matched and their liver sizes were compatible; two requirements for a transplant. The liver is the only organ which regenerates itself.

Of two lobes, a portion of the larger is transplanted to the recipient. Within 90 days, the liver of Von Biela’s nephew had regenerated itself. Von Biela, in essence, had a new one. When asked what he would like to tell his donor, Von Biela said, "I’d just tell him that it’s incredible, and I’m still in awe of his ability to be able to give and go through what he’s gone through."

UCLA has performed 30 living donor liver transplants.

Eunice Shore of Westlake Village was told her husband, Irv, 68, had only 48 hours to live; if he didn’t get a liver over the weekend, he would die. Shore had his transplant July 26, 1998. His donor was a 16-year-old boy who’d been in a traffic accident and was brain dead, but still receiving oxygen. Shore has never met the donor family.

"If I were to meet them now," he said, "I would say to the family that the most wonderful thing that a family can do for another person, if they had the opportunity, would be to give someone another chance to live." Physically and emotionally, he feels great, doing everything that he did before. Initially there was a lot of anxiety, Shore said, but with the support of family and friends, he’s doing well.

According to Jackie Colleran, president of the Ventura/West Valley chapter, the group started in Westlake when two recipients had a conversation in a grocery line seven years ago and discovered they’d both received transplants. Word spread from a desire to help others and to promote donor awareness. The group meets the first and third Fridays of the month at 7 p.m. at the Los Robles Outpatient Center in Westlake.

TRIO is a nonprofit organization consisting of transplant recipients, their families, donor family members, loving friends and those awaiting transplants. It’s committed to improving the quality of lives touched by transplants through support, advocacy, education and awareness. For more information regarding TRIO, contact Jackie Colleran at (805) 492- 9810.