Good Morning, bwebster93. I am extending a virtual handshake across the miles to welcome you to Connect. I am a liver/kidney (2009) recipient of a deceased donor. While I understand what your dad is experiencing now, I do not know the answer to that question.
However, I do want to link you to the Mayo Connect Transplant Pages where you can access the Living Donor and Recipient Toolkits. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/

Let me know what I can do to help you along the way. I am happy to share what I have experienced, as well as locate the information that you might need.
Not all transplant centers offer living organ transplants. Is your dad being seen at a transplant center? Do they offer living donation?

My son is decompensating and getting closer to needing a transplant. Our center does living donor transplants. We were told he would need to be evaluated before they would consider transplanting him. He is stage 4 cirrhosis but still not bad enough that they would transplant him now even with a living donor. Could be your center meant he needs to be evaluated and ready to go on the list. Maybe go back and ask them to be more specific. Best of luck to your Dad. And God Bless you for offering to be his donor. Prayers you are the perfect match!

@bwebster93 It seems that each transplant center has their own protocol for the type of thing you are referring to. I would call the transplant coordinator and ask for clarification. I too find it difficult to understand why he would need to find a cadaver match before having a living donor. To me, that seems to defeat part of the purpose of having a living donor.
I would love to know what your transplant center says, I think maybe there has been a miscommunication.
JK