The liver is the earthworm of human organs. Slice it in two and it'll grow into two livers that work as well as the first. Well, you've got to start off with a very healthy liver in the first place, and you've gotta make a transplant to give the thing somewhere to live, but its still pretty cool. I'd never heard of split liver transplants till I read this story from the AP. A 21 year-old in dire need of a liver transplant allowed surgeons to carve off a chunk of the liver she'd waited months for so they could give it to an ailing baby girl. Its not very common, only 2 or 3 percent of the 6,000 liver transplants are split each year. While it does take an act of selflessness on the sharer's part, surgeons could be splitting up to 1,000 healthy donated livers, giving more people a chance at making it and reducing the waiting list. The trouble is coordinating efforts, proximity of patients, and of course broaching the subject of implanting partial organs. I'd like to think my liver would be fit for splitting, I mean I've been exercising it pretty rigorously since I was 21, so he's gotta be in great shape.
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