Living Liver Donor Program

The UW Transplant program is a national leader in the field of transplantation. The UW Transplant program was a pioneer in reduced-liver transplants for children and first began to perform reduced liver transplants in 1989.  The first adult-to-adult live donor liver transplant was performed at UW Hospital in 1999.

 

 

In 2004, there were almost 200 people on the waiting list for a liver transplant in the state of Wisconsin. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, over 17,000 were on the list throughout the nation. The waiting list for liver transplants is continually changing as the most severe patients are always being placed at the top of the list.

 

While the average wait time with the UW Transplant Program for seriously ill patients is fairly minimal, patients with less severe liver disease have a significant wait time, as the most seriously ill patients have priority.