Each year an estimated two million people die of liver disease. The World Health Organization estimates that over 650 million people worldwide are affected by some form of liver disease, including 30 million Americans. China has the world’s largest population of Hepatitis B patients (approx. 120 million) with 500,000 people dying of the liver disease every year. On a worldwide base, 1-2 million deaths are accounted to liver related diseases annually.

In the US alone, there are around 500,000 critical episodes of liver problems requiring hospitalization with 80,000 deaths annually. Liver transplantation is currently the only therapy proven to extend survival but the waiting list for liver transplants is extensive and many on the list will not receive an organ due to a dramatic shortage of donors or not being eligible.

In 2007, there were nearly 17,000 individuals on the US waiting list for a liver transplant. Only 30% of those in need were transplanted. The average waiting time was more than 400 days. The same year, about 1,300 people died while waiting for a suitable donor with no medical option for saving their life available. For those patients with fulminant hepatic failure, a severe liver disease with 60-90% mortality, depending on the cause, only 10% received a transplant. Liver transplantation has a relatively high mortality of 30% -40% at 5 -8years with 65% of the deaths occurring in the first 6 months. In addition, patients who have undergone transplantation have to use lifelong immunosuppressive therapy.