Many patients die each year lacking only a functional small bowel to survive. The minimum amount of small intestinal absorptive surface required to sustain life varies from patient to patient. Prolonged survival with oral alimentation alone has been reported in a few patients with an intact duodenum and as little as 15-45 cm of residual jejunum. However, without long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN), prolonged patient survival is the exception rather than the rule. Chronic parenteral nutrition is associated with complications, including sepsis, venous thrombosis, metabolic disorders and liver dysfunction. From studies of patients currently on long-term TPN, it would appear that there are between two and three patients per million of population per year who develop irreversible small bowel failure. It is estimated that 20 new patients/year in the UK receiving home TPN would be potential candidates for small bowel transplantation.