A. MINIMAL LISTING REQUIREMENTS
The following are UCSD Liver Transplant requirements for listing as part of the liver transplant evaluation for patients with acute liver failure or high MELD:
- Authorization for Consultation Visit with UCSD Medical Center Liver Transplant
- Surgical Consultation
- Labs
- Pulmonary Function Tests
- EKG
- 2D Echocardiogram
- Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram – for patients >50 yrs old or those with known heart problems
- MRI with Feridex - prefer to be completed at UCSD or
- Abdominal Triphasic CT Scan
- Social Work consult - must be completed at UCSD Medical Center
B. LOCATING A LIVER
Local “Organ Procurement Organizations” (OPO) are notified when an organ donor becomes available. They then match the donated organ to a patient awaiting transplant.
C. WAITING FOR TRANSPLANT
It is not possible to determine how long a patient must wait for transplantation as many factors can influence how quickly an organ becomes available: blood type, size of donor and/or recipient, location, medical urgency.
Consequently, it is recommended that you stay as active as possible, take your medications as prescribed, and observe a healthy lifestyle during the wait.