What are the facts about Liver Transplantation?
Liver Transplantation – Questions and Answers When does a liver transplant need to be done? This is a very complex issue and must be answered on a case by case basis. Anyone with hepatitis C should be followed by a physician regularly. If signs of progressive disease appear, the person needs to be referred to a gastroenterologist (specialist in digestive diseases and liver diseases). Since hepatitis C is known to progress very slowly, it is not necessary to have a liver transplant until the disease has reached “end stage”. Factors to be assessed include the state of progression of the disease, whether or not complications of liver failure have occurred and laboratory value including albumin, bilirubin, and prothrombin time. What are my chances with a liver transplant? The survival rate after liver transplant overall is approximately 80% at one year, and 70% at five years. The odds for hepatitis C are approximately the same as for the average liver transplant for another reason. How lon
