Transplant Questions
When you're considering a transplant, it's natural to have many questions. Transplant Living, an online newsletter focusing on transplants, has excellent information for those facing transplants.
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has a comprehensive list of questions you may want to review. Below are some additional questions specific to liver transplant issues. Here is a Printable PDF to take to your appointment.
Successful Surgery
- What will happen if I don’t have a transplant?
- What is the transplant center’s liver survival rate?
- How can I improve my chances of success before and after surgery?
- What is the expected surgery recovery time?
- Am I able to take medications on time each day and refill prescriptions in a timely manner?
- What are the side effects of transplant medications?
- Has my transplant team answered all of my questions?
Recovery
- Do I have transportation to the hospital and to my physician's offices?
- 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 for me?
- Can I afford any additional extra expenses?
- Does my insurance cover surgery at my chosen center?
- Is my insurance current, and is renewal easily accomplished?
- Can the transplant social worker help me find other assistance?
- If I can’t afford the costs, is there a person who can help?
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 taking all of my medicines on time every day, 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?
- Have I considered how I might feel if my living donor had a complication from the surgery?
- Who should I talk to if I have any concerns?
Support
- Where do I go for emotional support, either before or after the transplant?
- 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 prepare for the emotional ups and downs of this process? Who can I talk to?
- How will my family, friends, and co-workers prepare? 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 insurance require me to use a mail-order specialty pharmacy?
- What will my out-of-pocket costs be for my medications every month?
Your doctors and transplant team are there to answer your questions.
