Questions You Need to Ask About a Transplant

Successful surgery

• What will happen if I don’t have a transplant?
• Am I able to take medications on time each day and to refill prescriptions in a timely manner?
• What are the side effects of transplant medications?
• What is the expected surgery recovery time?
• How can I improve my chances of success before and after surgery?
• Am I confident in the transplant team?
• What is the transplant center’s liver survival rate?

Recovery

• Do I have transportation to the hospital and to my physicians?
• Should I plan for housing near the transplant center?
• Who will help me recover?
• What about care for my family and my pets during recovery?

Financial

• Will I be able to work before and after a transplant?
• Will my job be saved?
• Can I afford the inevitable extra expenses?
• Does my insurance cover surgery at the center I want to be at?
• Is my insurance current and is renewal easily accomplished?
• If I can’t afford the costs, is there a person who can help out or other ways to find assistance?

Expectations

• What do I expect a transplant to be like for me?
• Are my goals realistic?
• Can I commit to the post-surgery care plan and discipline of traveling for follow-up clinic appointments, blood tests, etc., even though it might be difficult or inconvenient?

Living donation

• If I have a live donor, do we both understand the risks?
• Am I prepared for those days when I seemingly am recovering faster than my donor?

Support

• Where do I go for emotional support?
• Do my family and friends support my transplant decision?
• Will they help me and be supportive?
• Will my significant other accept the physical changes post-surgery (the scar, possible weight gain, temporary emotional ups and downs, other side effects)?
• What can I expect to experience during my recovery?
• How can I and my family, friends, and co-workers prepare for the emotional ups and downs of this process?
• Where can THEY go for support?

Post-surgery

• How do I recognize problems like rejection after surgery, and when should I call for help?
• Does my insurance cover the prescriptions?
• Will they force me to use a mail-order specialty pharmacy?
• What will my out of pocket costs be for all of the meds every month?

The online PSC support groups are a great source of information regarding these questions. Click here for the sites.