How to Qualify for a Liver Transplant
The liver is vital to sustaining life. As liver disease and damage progresses, your liver's ability to heal itself is halted and permanent damage can ultimately lead to liver failure. A liver transplant is the best option for patients who would most likely die from liver failure. This surgical procedure removes your diseased liver and replaces it with a healthy, donated liver. Since there are more people who need a liver than available donors, the medical community has established a set of criteria that must be met in order to get on the national transplant waiting list.
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Instructions
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Getting on the National Waiting List
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Talk to your doctor. Your doctor is the person who will ultimately make the decision that you need a liver transplant. The first step to be placed on the national waiting list is a referral from your physician.
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Get in touch with a liver transplant hospital. There are more than 200 transplant hospitals in America. Choose the one that most closely meets your needs (such as insurance acceptance, finances, location and availability of support groups).
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Schedule an evaluation with the transplant team at your hospital. You will meet with a team of liver specialists, transplant surgeon(s) and nurses who will arrange tests such as blood tests and X-rays to determine if you are a good candidate for transplant surgery. The team may evaluate your other organs, immune system and mental health to ensure that you are strong enough to undergo the surgery. If all goes well, the transplant team will add you to the waiting list. When a liver is available, you will be notified.
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Tips & Warnings
While you are waiting for a liver transplant, it is crucial to stay as strong and healthy as possible to ensure a positive outcome and a good long-term prognosis. Your doctor may refer you to a nutritionist to ensure that you are eating a healthy diet to help combat some of the nutritional challenges associated with liver disease.
Your medical team will give you a liver score, referred to as MELD (Model for End Stage Liver Disease). This is based upon your bilirubin levels (which is excreted in your bile), the ability of your liver to produce materials for blood clotting, and creatinine levels (which indicates the functioning of your kidneys). Patients referred for transplant usually have a score of 15 or higher. Patients with higher scores are always placed in higher priority for receiving a donated liver.
If you use drugs or alcohol, stop immediately. If you are suffering from addiction, enter a treatment program or get counseling. Since even small amounts of these substances can worsen liver disease, most transplant teams will not consider you as a candidate unless you have shown that you have discontinued drinking or using drugs for a significant length of time.
You may not be eligible to get a liver transplant if you are actively abusing alcohol or drugs, have a severe infection, are unable to follow your doctor's instructions, have cancer in other areas of your body, or if you have any serious disease of the lung, heart or nerves.
