How do you get on the waiting list for a liver transplant?
Being placed on a transplant waiting list means that your name and medical information go into the UNOS database, the national database uses to allocate donor livers in the United States.
The wait time for a liver transplant can be a few days or several years, depending on factors including:
Your position on the liver transplant waiting list is based on medical urgency, which is determined by your MELD (Model for End Stage Liver Disease) score.
Your MELD Score is based on four lab tests:
- Bilirubin, which represents your liver function
- Creatinine, which represents your kidney function
- Sodium, an electrolyte affected by liver disease
- INR, a test that measures how long it takes your blood to clot
During your time on the waiting list, you’ll have these tests done regularly so we can keep your MELD score updated. How often we update your labs depends on how sick you are.
Your position on the list may change based on your health status and as other patients are added to the list or receive transplants.
Your donor liver must be from someone with the same blood type (A, B, AB, or O). People with blood type AB can receive a liver transplant from a donor with any blood type.
In order for the donated liver to fit properly in your body and have the capacity to function correctly, it should be from a donor about the same size as you. People who are smaller or larger than average may wait longer.
Children are given priority for livers donated from pediatric donors.
A donor liver can’t be outside a body indefinitely. Travel time to our transplant center is taken into consideration when donor livers are allocated.