Liver Transplantation: When is it Recommended?
A liver transplant is the only hope for survival of patients with advanced liver disease and for those with acute liver failure. There are no other options available for a failing liver as there are for patients with other failed organs.
For example, dialysis (a method of cleansing the blood) can be carried out for long periods of time for patients with kidney failure. Unfortunately, this kind of technology is not available today for patients with liver failure because many functions of the liver cannot be matched.
A liver transplant is recommended for children who have serious liver dysfunction and who will not be able to live without having the liver replaced. The most common liver disease in children for which transplants are done is biliary atresia.
The Pediatric Liver Care Center is a charter member of Studies in Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT). SPLIT has developed and now maintains a national database for pediatric liver transplantation to characterize and follow national trends in patient and graft survival, rejection incidence, growth parameters and immunosuppressive therapy.
