Liver transplantation is only offered to persons with severe liver failure. A person is evaluated by a team of healthcare professionals to see if he or she is a good candidate for a liver transplant. This team includes surgeons, liver specialists known as hepatologists, social workers, nurses, and transplant coordinators. A few conditions would disqualify a person from receiving a liver transplant. That is, the body's immune system would normally attack the new liver because it is something foreign.
Immunosuppressants are medications that keep the immune system from attacking the new liver.
These medications need to be taken for as long as the new liver functions. The person will also need lifelong follow-up with doctors. If a person is found to be a good candidate for the transplant, the person's name is placed on a waiting list. It can sometimes take years for a recipient to receive a liver from a donor. These are currently 14,000 people in the US waiting for a liver transplant.