Liver Transplant Team

When you are scheduled for your transplant evaluation, you’ll be an assigned a pre-transplant coordinator -- a nurse who is specially trained in liver transplant care. They will teach you about the transplant process and how to take care of yourself before and after your transplant. They can also help you coordinate your appointments, interpret test results, and connect you with helpful resources. After surgery, a post-transplant coordinator will assist you with medications, education for you and your caregiver, and scheduling follow-up care.

Hepatologists are gastroenterologists with extensive training in liver disorders. Your transplant hepatologist specializes in liver disease and liver transplantation. This doctor will review your medical history and decide what testing needs to be done for evaluation. While you wait for your donor liver, they will help keep you healthy and will provide most of your care after surgery. 

Your transplant surgeon will meet with you to talk about your liver transplant surgery. They will review your medical history and discuss the risks and benefits of the liver transplant. After performing your surgery, they care for you in the hospital, and you will see them for follow-up visits until you are completely healed from surgery.

During your evaluation, a social worker will assess your ability to cope with the impact of liver transplantation on you and your family. They may provide counseling, connect you with social and community resources, and help you find local lodging around the time of transplant.

To help us understand how you might react to the stress of a transplant, you may visit with a team psychologist. Our psychologists have vast experience helping patients before and after their liver transplants.

Your financial coordinator will work closely with you and your insurance company to ensure that your transplant is financially approved before you are placed on a waiting list for your new liver. They will help you understand your payment options, including resources that might make your tests, surgery, and medications more affordable.  

Because achieving an ideal weight and maintaining healthy eating habits are essential to a successful liver transplant, you will meet with a nutritionist. They will help you understand your dietary needs and determine the foods that are best for you before and after transplant.

After your transplant, you will take medications to manage rejection and infection for the rest of your life. Your pharmacist will help you understand these medications, their purpose, and how they interact with each other. They will make sure your medication regimen is working for you.