Need a transplant after a liver disease diagnosis? Look no further than MedStar Health.

Unfortunately, liver disease is the 10th most common cause of death in the United States and rates continue to rise. It is estimated that up to 30% of the population may have some degree of fatty liver disease. More than 100,000 people in the D.C. metro area have a serious liver condition; These diseases include: viral hepatitis, alcohol related fatty liver disease (MASH, NASH), chronic cholestatic syndromes, and liver and bile duct tumors. While some of these conditions can be medically managed, others may require a liver transplant. You are in good hands with MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. We regularly perform more than 120 liver transplants each year, and are the most experienced team in the area.

Many patients benefit from medications to manage their liver disease. For patients with viral hepatitis, antiviral medications can keep the disease at bay. For patients with high blood pressure in the arteries to their liver, known as portal hypertension, surgery is an option to relieve excess pressure. For liver cancer patients, a range of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy options are available. For patients with primary and metastatic liver cancer, MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute is the only center in the region that offers liver transplantation as a treatment option. Our experienced treatment team includes transplant surgeons, hepatologists, and medical and radiation oncologists who collaborate closely to create a systemic, team-centered approach focused on patient care.

For many patients with end-stage liver disease, transplantation is a life saving option which can also improve quality of life. The decision to transplant is based on the patient’s medical condition and quality of life. The team at MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute will work with you to medically manage your condition. When medical management is no longer a good long term option, you will be placed on the waitlist for a deceased donor transplant and at the same time, you will be guided and encouraged to find a living donor.

Waiting time can be affected by the severity of underlying liver disease. Patients with more advanced liver disease may be more likely to receive a liver transplant. Living donor liver transplantation and other options allow more people in need of transplant to receive a liver.

Living donor liver transplantation is a good option for many patients who need a liver transplant. In this kind of transplant, a healthy person (family member, friend or coworker) donates a portion of his or her liver to the transplant patient.

Doctors remove a portion of the donor’s liver, remove the recipient’s damaged liver and attach the healthy partial liver in its place, where it begins to regenerate to normal size. The donor’s liver quickly regenerates, too, and continues to function normally. Both procedures are performed at the same time in two adjacent operating rooms.

This kind of surgery can be scheduled and can be performed before the transplant recipient becomes extremely ill. The donor is thoroughly evaluated and their liver is known to be in excellent quality. These factors may lead to fewer complications, faster recovery and good long-term results. This is a very safe procedure for donors.

Liver transplants are highly effective in curing the underlying disease with good long term outcomes, whether a donor organ or living donor is used. The MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute is the largest and most experienced transplant center in Washington, DC and among the top 20% in volume of liver transplant in the United States. Higher volume leads to a more experienced team which leads to better outcomes.

Luckily, a number of very effective medications are available to prevent organ rejection. These medications suppress the immune system, which inhibits rejection of foreign tissue. After a liver transplant, recipients must take medications daily for the rest of their lives. Once the first few months after transplant have passed, the number and doses of medications are generally reduced.

• Evaluation: patients undergo a series of tests to determine if they are a candidate for liver transplantation.
• Donor: the transplant program coordinates with the local and national transplant lists to find a donor organ.
• Organ allocation is based on medical urgency, time on the waiting list and blood type compatibility. Living donors also must undergo evaluation and must have compatible blood types.
• Surgery: The transplant surgeon removes the donor organ (or portion of healthy liver for a living donor), removes the recipient’s damaged liver and the attaches the donor liver.
• Recovery: most liver recipients spend average 10-12 days in the hospital; living liver donors spend about one week in the hospital. Doctors monitor liver recipients closely for signs of organ rejection, infection or other complications.

As a leader in liver and kidney transplantation, MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute is constantly working to enable more patients to get life-saving transplants and to improve outcomes. One area that helps the Institute achieve both goals is our Organ ICU, staffed by dedicated organ preservation specialists. The organ ICU uses the latest technology to keep both liver and kidney organs perfused and stable in transit and while waiting for transplantation and, in the case of donor livers, allows our surgical team to perform viability testing to assess organ quality and function. We are one of the few transplant programs in the country utilizing these technologies.

The OrganOX metra® normothermic machine perfusion system pumps warm oxygenated blood, nutrients, and medications through the liver to maintain near physiologic temperature, oxygen saturation, and blood pressures. While attached to the pump, the donor liver functions like it does while in the body, producing bile, metabolizing glucose, and maintaining pH, reducing the risk of damage due to prolonged cold ischemia and extending storage time. Since the liver is functioning normally while on the pump, our transplant surgeons and preservation specialists can assess the viability of the organ to determine whether it is appropriate for transplantation. To date, the Institute has used the OrganOX metra to pump more than 110 livers.