Northwestern surgeons perform first-of-its-kind split liver transplant in US

CHICAGO - In a historic medical breakthrough, Northwestern Medicine surgeons successfully split a deceased donor’s liver to save two patients, including a man who had been told hospice was his only option.

The innovative transplant procedure, the first of its kind in the U.S., offers new hope for patients with advanced liver disease.

What we know:

Barclay Missen, 53, was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2021, with the disease confined to his liver. His only chance for survival was a liver transplant, but because he didn’t qualify for a standard transplant, his options were limited.

Chemotherapy wasn’t working, and doctors were preparing him for end-of-life care.

Then came a groundbreaking approach. Northwestern surgeons obtained consent from Kelli Podrez, the designated recipient of a deceased donor’s liver, to split the organ.

Doctors transplanted a small section of the donated liver alongside Missen’s remaining cancerous liver. Over the next two weeks, the transplanted section grew to sustain his body.

In a second surgery, doctors removed the rest of his diseased liver, leaving him cancer-free.

Dr. Satish Nadig, a transplant surgeon at Northwestern Medicine, explained, "We took out half of his liver, leaving one half that still had cancer in it. We transplanted the small portion of the liver, waited two weeks for it to grow to a full size... then completed the oncologic operation by taking out the rest of the cancerous liver, rendering him cancer-free."

Five months later, Missen has fully recovered.

The other side:

Podrez, who agreed to share her donor liver, never hesitated.

"I thought it was kind of cool that they were saving two lives," she said. "There would be no question for me. It was going to save someone else’s life."

Missen, overwhelmed with gratitude, described his second chance at life.

"There’s an overarching layer of gratitude and love covering everything now. The things I took for granted before—now I feel like it’s magic. It really is magic," he said.

What's next:

Northwestern doctors believe this groundbreaking procedure could transform the future of liver transplants, expanding access to patients with stage 4 colorectal cancer and other severe liver diseases.