Liver Transplant Program
Evaluation Process
To ensure that a liver transplant is the best option for the transplant recipient and his/her family, and to plan for a successful transplant, Texas Children's performs a thorough and timely evaluation of the transplant recipien’s health. The evaluation helps the transplant team to plan for pre-transplant management, establish all the details of the transplant and prepare the transplant recipient and his/her family for the daunting but potentially lifesaving road ahead. Our liver transplant coordinators will work with the transplant recipient and his/her family through the evaluation process as smoothly as possible.
Before the evaluation
Your transplant coordinator and team will work closely with you to collect key information including:
- A comprehensive summary of the transplant recepient's clinical records, including representative radiographic studies and recent hospital discharges
- A family evaluation report from a social worker
- Insurance information (insurance approval is mandatory before arranging an evaluation)
What to Expect
The pre-transplant evaluation requires close to 3 days of consultations and testing. Generally, the evaluation consists of the following tests:
Meet Your Transplant team
You and your child will also meet with many transplant team members and specialists, including:
- Child life specialist
- Hepatologist and transplant surgeon or surgical PA
- Neuropsychologist
- Physical therapist
- Registered Dietitian
- Social worker
- The transplant program medical director and/or surgical director
- Transplant Coordinator
- Transplant nurse practitioner
- Other medical specialists, such as an immunologist, gastroenterologist or cardiologist
Waiting for a donor liver
Once your child completes all the necessary consultations and tests and the transplant is approved, their name will be added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) list. The waiting period can take days, weeks or even years. If you and your family live more than one hour by car from Houston, we will ask you to relocate to the Houston area until transplant. We will require that you have a working phone so our transplant coordinator is able to reach you at any time when donor lungs become available, and you must be able to reach the hospital within 1 hours of that time.
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