Liver Transplants

What is a Liver Transplant?

If you have a liver disease or liver cancer, you may be a candidate for a liver transplant. It’s important to begin the evaluation process before additional health complications arise, as these can impact your eligibility to have a transplant.

If you are identified as a candidate, your transplant team will provide you and your family personalized education, care and resources before and after your transplant.

With comprehensive programs in the treatment of liver disease (hepatology), liver surgery (hepatobiliary) and transplantation, we offer a wide range of services and therapies, including options for complex patients.

Your care will be customized to your unique needs and will include a multidisciplinary team of transplant surgeons, hepatologists (liver specialists), gastroenterologists (digestive system specialists), transplant nurse coordinators, anesthesiologists, radiologists, critical care specialists, psychiatrists, nutritionists and social workers and financial services staff.

What to Expect

Before the Transplant

If you’re a candidate for a liver transplant, your health and well-being will be assessed to determine if transplantation is in your best interest. It’s important to begin this process before additional health complications develop, as these could make you ineligible.

Using your evaluations and transplant selection criteria, a team of specialists will determine if you are a good candidate.

If accepted for transplantation, you’ll be added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) organ sharing list. Patients are prioritized based on their MELD (Model for End-stage Liver Disease) score so that the sickest patients receive transplants first.

Once you are selected to receive a donor liver, you will need to be at the hospital immediately.

After the Transplant

Patients typically stay in the hospital for 7 to 10 days following transplantation. Your transplant team will offer support and education such as how to prevent rejection and daily care after discharge. Your follow-up care will include anti-rejections therapy management and ongoing education.