VCU Health Leads Advances in Liver Care and Living Donation

RICHMOND, Va. -- October is National Liver Awareness Month and a great time to learn more about liver health. Dr. Shaurya Prakash, transplant hepatologist at VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center, came to the studio to discuss liver disease, what causes it and ways to avoid it. With liver disease on the rise, Dr. Prakash also shared how VCU Health is leading the way in treatments and research.

What essential information should we know about our liver?

Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body. It detoxifies your blood, supports digestion, stores energy and helps your body fight infection and heal. The challenge is that liver disease often develops silently, with few symptoms in the early stages, and that's why prevention is so important. Maintaining a healthy weight, staying active and limiting alcohol can all help protect your liver. At the VCU Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, we're focused on connecting research, education and patient care to turn life-changing discoveries into real world treatments.

Can you explain how weight, diabetes and high cholesterol affect the liver and impact overall patient health?

Metabolic dysfunction, previously called fatty liver, is one of the fastest growing causes of liver disease. It affects about 1 in 3 adults worldwide and is closely linked to diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol. If left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure, at which point a transplant may be the best treatment option. If a transplant is needed, patients have access to one of the nation's leading transplant programs at the VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center. For many patients, a living donation can offer a transplant sooner and before they become even sicker.

Can you tell us about living organ donation?

A healthy person can donate part of their liver to help someone in need. The liver is unique in that it can regenerate and grow back in weeks. Through living donations, patients can often receive a transplant sooner and before they become sicker.

The Hume-Lee Transplant Center is ranked among the top five living donor liver transplant centers in the nation and has completed close to 300 living donor liver transplants. We are also one of only a few centers in the U.S. performing ABO incompatible living donor liver transplants. This allows patients to receive a transplant even when their blood type is not a match with their potential donor.

If someone is considering being a living liver donor, what are some things that they should know?

The first thing to know is that donor safety is always our top priority. Every potential donor undergoes thorough evaluations to ensure living donation is a safe option. Our team has also pioneered the use of robotic-assisted surgery. This surgery is less invasive, meaning smaller incisions, less pain and a faster recovery time for donors. In 2025, Hume-Lee was the first in the world to perform a living donor liver surgery using the revolutionary da Vinci 5 robotic system. Living donation saves lives, and we're proud to offer surgical options that make the process safer and easier for donors, while helping more patients receive the lifesaving transplants that they need. For more information, visit vcuhealth.org/transplant or call (804) 828-4104.

{***THIS SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY VCU HEALTH***}