Acuity circles (AC) liver allocation policy was implemented to eliminate donor service area geographic boundaries from liver allocation and to decrease variability in median model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score at transplant and wait list mortality. A team of researchers at Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute found that the new policy also significantly increased transportation costs and acquisition fees.
Like all transplant recipients, patients who have received a liver transplant have complex and unique medical needs. Physicians who are following these patients must be proactive about preventive care, recognize potential complications and manage any post-transplant conditions that develop.
The opioid epidemic has resulted in thousands of deaths in people infected with acute hepatitis C (HCV) due to IV drug use. Because many of these people are undiagnosed, especially in high-risk populations, many organs from HCV-positive donors are still being procured. The development of highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has made it possible to successfully transplant HCV-positive organs into HCV-negative recipients and treat the hepatitis C post transplant.
Liver disease is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and the third or fourth leading cause of death among patients 45 to 64. To improve these outcomes, many hepatologists on the medical staffs of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth are undertaking a number of notable patient-centered research projects. All research projects are administered by Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.
For decades, transplant programs have performed liver transplants on patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis. Most of these patients have not used alcohol for many months, if not years. However, a small subset of patients—many of them younger and female—are presenting with acute alcoholic hepatitis. Historically, liver transplants have not been performed on these patients.
