Liver Trans w/ Hep C?

My husband will be seen tomorrow at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. We first found out that he had Hep C in Oct 08. In Feb 09 they did the biopsy. He is a Stage 4. Did 13 wks of treatments and was a nonresponder. Viral load was 162,000 in Feb, 607,000 in Dec. In Jan 10 we found out that he is has Grade 1 Varies. At the Mayo they are going to do a transplant evaluation. But he still has the Hep C. Secendary insurance will not pay anything as long as Hep is still active. Primary will are still not sure if they will pay or not. My big question is what are the prognosis with and without a transplant . I know that a transplatnt is only going to buy him some time.

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

HCV can recur post-liver transplantation.  As far as I know, no insurance carrier should deny transplant benefits based on one's diagnosis.  the majority of HCV patients coming to transplant are in fact viral load (+).  he should wait as long as possible before undergoing transplantation and this will be based on his MELD score