Liver Transplant Program
Renowned Experts Caring for Patients of All Ages
Meet Jaimie D. Nathan, MD
Chief, Abdominal Transplant & Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery
Liver Transplant Program
When your child needs a liver transplant, expertise and experience matter. Liver transplantation in children is a highly successful therapy. To maximize success, an individualized approach tailored to each patient is imperative to achieving best outcomes. In children, liver transplantation may require different surgical techniques employed to match every child with an ideal liver graft for their size.
Backed by renowned expertise in liver transplantation, Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides the full spectrum of care for infants, children, and young adults. Our surgical team utilizes all available techniques in liver transplantation, including split liver grafts, reduced-sized grafts, and living donor liver transplantation to optimize outcomes and minimize time on the waiting list.
About Liver Transplant at Nationwide Children’s
Liver failure is life-threatening and life changing. Our goal for every liver transplant patient is to improve quality of life and reduce time on the waiting list. As a member of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), Nationwide Children’s participates in the national transplant network that is responsible for all transplants that occur in the United States. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) provides the member requirements and quality oversight that all members must meet to participate in the transplant process. UNOS also oversees the national organ-matching process between candidates and donors.
As a member of the OPTN, Nationwide Children’s meets all the regulatory requirements of a transplant center set forth by UNOS. As a free-standing pediatric hospital, Nationwide can ensure your child receives all the care they need before and after transplant. The liver transplant program at Nationwide Children’s focuses on maximizing a patient’s health before, during and after transplantation. Our goal is to help your child achieve an ideal outcome after their liver transplant.
In 2021, Nationwide Children’s welcomed nationally recognized pediatric transplant surgeon Jaimie D. Nathan, MD, to serve as chief of Pediatric Abdominal Transplant and Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery. Dr. Nathan has devoted his career to pediatric solid organ transplantation and has extensive experience in caring for the most complex liver transplant patients and in utilizing all technical variant grafts. Dr. Nathan leads a team of multidisciplinary specialists who guide patients through every step of the transplant journey, from evaluation and diagnosis through surgery and long-term follow-up.
Under Dr. Nathan’s leadership, the liver transplant team at Nationwide Children’s offers a comprehensive expertise tailored to meet your child’s specific health care needs. Our hepatologists have advanced training in the medical management of pediatric liver transplantation, providing a full spectrum of care starting with the onset of illness through the long-term post-transplant timeframe. In 2022, our surgical team welcomed Sara K. Rasmussen, MD, PhD, pediatric transplant surgeon, who brings additional advanced expertise in technical variant grafts for pediatric liver transplantation. Patients and families are further supported by our transplant coordinators, nurse practitioners, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists, and dietitians.
Transplant Capabilities
We offer full-service transplant care, including:
- Transplant candidate evaluation
- Pre- and post-transplant monitoring and management
- All technical variant grafts in liver transplantation, including:
- Split liver grafts
- Reduced-sized grafts
- Living donor transplantation
- ABO-incompatible liver transplantation
- Liver transplant in very young children, including infants
- Multi-organ transplant (including combined liver-kidney transplantation)
- Liver function testing and advanced imaging
- Advanced endoscopic and interventional radiology procedures
- Full medical and nutritional care
- On-site rehabilitation hospital
- Pain management
- Patient transition services to assist teams local to your child’s home that will provide post-transplant outpatient care
Nationwide Children’s provides the full range of Liver Care services for patients awaiting or recovering from a transplant. During these times, advanced monitoring is essential. We take each child’s unique needs into account in adjusting medications, optimizing nutrition, providing pain relief, and preparing children and their families for all the phases of transplantation.
Meet Maria
Our Multidisciplinary Liver Care Team
The liver care specialists at Nationwide Children’s include our expert team of physicians, surgeons and other medical professionals. Collectively the team shares in-depth knowledge and experience helping families navigate the practical, emotional and financial aspects of caring for a child with liver disease and related conditions – including pre- and post-liver transplant care.
Our dedicated care team includes members from:
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
- Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
- Infectious Disease
- Nursing and Clinical Coordination
- Pediatric Psychology
Keeping Families Connected
Nationwide Children’s prides itself on offering families a wide range of support services, financial assistance opportunities and lodging coordination. From assistance with travel arrangements for out-of-state and international families to a calendar of activities to keep siblings entertained, we will do all we can to make the experience more comfortable.
Our Global Patient Services program offers attentive and comprehensive support for visiting families. If you are considering traveling internationally or within the United States for evaluation or a transplant at Nationwide Children’s, you will have access to our travel support and care coordination services before, during, and after your visit. For additional information on resources available to our patients and their families, please review our Family Support Services.
Visit our Liver Care page for a list of general liver and diagnosis-specific support organizations.
What to Expect During the Liver Transplant Process
What is a liver transplant? Why might my child need one? What is the process for liver transplantation?
Liver transplantation replaces a diseased or damaged liver with a healthy liver (either a whole liver or partial liver) from a donor. In some cases, the liver comes from someone who has recently died. In others, an adult can give part of their own liver. The living donor’s liver will regrow over time, while the liver portion they donated will grow in the pediatric recipient.
Liver transplantation may be required when a child’s liver stops working (liver failure) or when a disease or disorder causes permanent damage to the liver.
Children may require a transplant if they have conditions such as:
- Acute liver failure
- Biliary atresia or other congenital cholestatic disease
- Chronic diseases of the bile ducts, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Genetic disorders, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Alagille syndrome, or Wilson disease
- Metabolic conditions, such urea cycle defects and organic acidemias
- Liver tumors
The road to pediatric liver transplantation can be a long journey for some families, while for others the need may arise quickly and unexpectedly.
Frequently Asked Questions
The process of liver transplantation may seem confusing or sometimes overwhelming. We understand, and our team is here to answer your questions. We encourage families to have in-depth conversations with us during visits and to call at any time with further questions.
Some of the most common questions we receive are answered below. For more information, or to find out how this information applies to your child, please reach out to our liver care experts.