Liver Transplant Selection Criteria

Each person’s journey to transplant is unique. Generally, a liver transplant is indicated for patients who are suffering from end-stage liver disease. These patients can experience symptoms such as:

• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin)
• Ascites (excess abdominal fluid)
• Encephalopathy (confusion)
• Muscle wasting
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Coagulopathy (poor blood clotting)

Conditions We Treat

The Liver Transplant Program at UH Transplant Institute offers organ transplants for many conditions, including:

• Abstinent alcoholic liver disease
• Ascites that does not respond to diuretics
• Budd-Chiari syndrome
• Cirrhosis with acute or chronic gastrointestinal bleeding
• Cirrhosis with liver mass on imaging study
• Cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis
• Elevated alfa-fetoprotein
• Liver masses and primary liver cancers seen on ultrasound, CT or MRI
• Encephalopathy
• Symptomatic polycystic liver disease

Who Doesn’t Qualify for a Liver Transplant?

Not all patients are candidates for liver transplant. The following conditions may complicate a liver transplant or make it less likely to succeed:

• Malignancy (cancer)
• Advanced cardiac (heart) disease
• Advanced lung disease
• Unstable psychiatric disorders
• Evidence of poor compliance with recommended treatments
• Inadequate psycho-social support systems
• Active alcohol or substance abuse
• Chronic or active infection

Candidate Selection

The multidisciplinary team at UH Transplant Institute decides if a patient should be a candidate for a liver transplant after a thorough review of test results, physical examination, medical and social history and doctor recommendations. Decisions about liver transplant candidacy are made by the multidisciplinary team as a group. All decision made by the multidisciplinary team are discussed with the patient by the physician or transplant nurse coordinator. Once accepted for a liver transplant, the patient is placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver transplant waiting list.