SALT LAKE CITY – Nearly 14,000 people are on the liver transplant list, according to the American Liver Foundation.
Experts say about 10% of people on the list will die or become too sick for transplant before it's their turn.
Gwen Finlayson was on the liver transplant list. Her son, Brandon Finlayson, offered to donate part of his liver.
"She needed this, and for the couple months of discomfort, that was well worth it," Brandon Finlayson said.
"The reason why a live donation is important to do before the patients get too sick is because you're not doing a full liver, you're only doing 40 to 60 percent," said Dr. Manuel Rodriguez-Davalos, director of Living Liver Donor Transplant Program at Intermountain Healthcare Transplant Services.
Gwen Finlayson is petite, so Rodriguez took Brandon's smaller left lobe, which is usually done for adolescents.
It's the first time it's been done between adults in Utah.
The family and surgeons knew exactly how both livers looked before the transplant.
The team used 3D imaging to print models.
"The fact that we're able to kind of go over, step by step, it's just so much easier than just seeing a CAT scan on the screen," Rodriguez said.
"Beforehand, we could see her liver, we could see my liver and we could see exactly how they were going to cut it open," Brandon Finlayson said.
Brandon Finlayson was home in five days; Gwen Finlayson in nine. Both of their livers grew back to functioning size. Now, she is looking ahead and being thankful every day.
"When I have milestones, when things are great, when things are going well, I try to reach out and tell him because I want him to know how grateful I am," Gwen Finlayson said.
Rodriguez plans to make 3D models of the pair's livers in a year to see how they've grown. Intermountain Transplant Services recently got a grant to create a 3D-printed liver library.
Rodriguez said models of donor and recipient livers will help educate patients and surgeons in training.