MELD Scores & Transplants

[lrzombro]

My father was diagnosed with Hep C in 2006 and drank til March 2010, he became ill in May and was hospitalized twice, he has Cirohsis (liver disease), just found out his MELD Score is 8, and his tumor markers are elevated, they said mite be liver cancer but not sure. He's waiting to even talk to transplant clinic first but we were told they only put on list when score reaches between 10-15. Not even sure if he's a candidate for a transplant yet. Sick of waiting and waiting, what is the survival rate for this? I been asking everyone.

[HectorSF]

I am not sure why you believe there is an urgency for a liver transplant for your father. According to his MELD score his liver is still functioning relatively well. (The range of MELD is 6 – 40). Depending on what area of the country your father is living in will determine at what MELD score he will be eligible for a transplant from a cadaver’s liver. In Northern Cal, New York and LA the majority of livers go to people with MELD scores over 25. Of course your father could get a transplant sooner if someone will donate part of their liver to him.

Kind in mind there are now 15,916 people waiting for a liver transplant. The people who are the most ill with the greatest chance of survival are given a new liver when one becomes available. Some of them will die waiting for a transplant because there aren't enough cadaver livers available.

Your father should be seeing a hepatologist to monitor his cirrhosis and prescribe any medications he may need to manage any symptoms he may be experiencing due to his liver disease. Should his disease progress and his liver begin to fail to function, then the doctor will refer him to a transplant center for an evaluation in order to get listed for a transplant.

What was your father hospitalized for?

Your father has to abstain from alcohol in order to get on a transplant list in the future.

Elevated AFP is not uncommon for patients having HCV and is not an accurate indicator of liver cancer. He will need a scan to diagnose HCC, liver cancer.

The survival rate depends on many factors including the transplant center where the operation is done.

Since your father has stopped drinking alcohol, his liver disease could stabilize and remain in its current condition for some time, possibly many years.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.
Hectorsf

[viaduk]

I'm sorry about you father.  On the positive side, a MELD score of 8  is low, and I think that hanging on to your own liver.. if you have any option,  is always better in the long run.  A transplant doc said this, and it makes sense in terms of the possibility of rejeection and having to rely on heavy duty anti rejection. meds for the rest of his life

However, there are some ways that result in you getting on, or moving up the list  If he had a previous variceal bleed, he'd get some points.  Also, cancer gets you moved up pretty quickly, so I would vigilantly follow up on "they say it might be cancer but not sure."  He needs immediate follow up, in my opinion.  My doc sends me for regular MRIs to insure that cancer does not rear it's ugly head,  Finally, a doctor's referral to the TP unit holds more weight if the doc is affiliated with that unit.  My doc is the hepatologist on the service,     Good luck to you both.  It's good that he stopped drinking.  Now, if you can, contact the hepatologist on the TP service and ask about becoming a patient.