Liver Transplant Program
The Liver Transplant Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Transplant Center provides complete treatment, transplant and management options for patients with severe liver disease, including liver cancer, cirrhosis and acute liver failure.
- Phone: 617-724-3872
Our Approach
Using state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge medical and surgical interventions, the Liver Transplant Program provides patients with timely interventions for liver disease, as well as individualized, ongoing care before and after their transplant.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Liver Transplantation
Every Transplant Center patient has a personal care team composed of multiple specialists with expertise treating advanced liver disease and includes:- Hepatologists
- Liver transplant surgeons
- Nephrologists
- Infectious disease specialists
- Radiologists
- Nurses
- Nutritionists
- Pharmacists
- Physical and occupational therapists
- Psychiatrists
- Social Workers
- Financial services representatives
- Transplant coordinators
The care team meets regularly and works with each patient and the referring physicians to provide the highest quality of care and restore the patient to a full and productive life.
Advanced Liver Transplant Evaluation
All patients are carefully monitored using the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), which is based on patients’ medical data and determines the urgency of their need for a transplant.
Both inpatient and outpatient liver transplant candidates work with a transplant coordinator, who lays the groundwork for their initial evaluation by gathering:- Medical information
- Previous test results
- Patient medical history, including prior hospitalizations
- Comprehensive patient education sessions
- Blood work
- Electrocardiogram
- Radiology including chest X-rays
- Exercise tests
- Social service evaluation
- Any special tests needed for a specific patient
The Liver Transplant Waiting List
Liver transplant patients are placed on the national United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list, which manages the distribution of organs nationwide. In the New England region, the waiting list is managed by the New England Organ Bank.
Advanced Treatment Options for Liver Transplant Patients
The Liver Transplant Program offers patients access to highly advanced treatments through ongoing research initiatives and clinical trials of new therapies.
We have improved outcomes for liver transplant patients by developing innovative treatments, such as use of the first monoclonal antibody, OKT3, to treat organ rejection, as well as enrollment in clinical trials of investigational agents for hepatitis C. We are also pioneering new approaches to the management of patients with acute liver failure.
Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Mass General has one of the most active and experienced live donor liver transplant programs in the region. Through live donor liver transplantation, a family member or friend donates a portion of his or her liver, allowing patients to receive a transplant without a prolonged waiting period for an organ from a deceased donor.
Patients Benefit From State-of-the-Art Technology
Mass General physicians are investigating the use of extracorporeal liver assist devices to ensure that more of our patients are well enough to be candidates for liver transplants. These devices contain cartridges that function like a dialysis machine and detoxify patients’ blood. They may act as a bridge to transplantation by performing the liver’s function until a donor organ becomes available.
Expertise in Liver Tumors that Cause the Need for Transplantation
Working closely with the Mass General Cancer Center, the Liver Transplant Program has extensive experience treating patients with liver cancers that require an organ transplant. Our multidisciplinary expertise in treating hepatocellular cancer means that we often receive referrals from area oncologists with particularly complex cases.
We also have specialized experience with patients who have large liver tumors and whose livers require extensive reconstruction after the removal of their tumors.
Specialized Support Services
Our patients benefit from a full spectrum of care that goes far beyond the transplant itself and includes social support resources for recipients and their families, including:- Support groups
- Chaplaincy services
- Psychiatrists
Social workers are intimately involved in our patients’ postoperative transplant care and often help them to arrange for stays at intermediate care facilities or establish the implementation of required home services when they are discharged.
24/7 Access for Patients
After patients are discharged, our nursing team closely monitors their status. Patients can speak with a transplant nurse about a variety of topics, including:- Medications
- Diet
- Activity
- General health concerns
About This Program
The Mass General Transplant Center is home to one of the largest liver transplant programs in the region. In 2008 our center performed more deceased liver transplants than any other center in the area.
For nearly three decades, the Transplant Center has developed life-saving techniques that have revolutionized transplant medicine for patients around the globe. Major transplant milestones include:- New England’s first successful liver transplant in 1983
- New England’s first successful liver/heart transplant in 1993
- New England’s first successful split liver transplant in 1999
Comprehensive Liver Disease Care
We offer comprehensive treatment, transplant and management options for patients who require transplantation due to a variety of conditions, including:- Hepatitis A: A highly contagious virus that may cause serious liver injury
- Hepatitis B: Infection is transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis B virus through infected body fluids
- Hepatitis C: Infection is transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis C virus, once called non-A or non-B hepatitis, from contaminated blood products
Throughout the transplantation process, we work closely with both the patient and referring physician on a long-term care plan to ensure the best possible outcomes.
A Dedicated Referral Line for Physicians and Patients
We provide patients and referring physicians with an experienced transplant access coordinator, a clinician who helps assess patient needs, provides on going education, coordinates appointments and organizes appropriate evaluations. Contact the Liver Transplant Center’s access coordinator
Calls will be returned within 24 hours.
Leadership in Liver Transplant
We are one of the few hospitals in the region to offer split liver transplants from living donors, which involves taking a liver from a living donor and dividing it between an adult and pediatric patient. Patients with acute liver failure may also benefit from a domino transplant, in which they receive a liver that is healthier than their own from another patient who has received a transplant.
Clinical Research Studies & Trials
We give patients new hope with revolutionary techniques developed through translational research and advanced clinical trials. We have distinguished ourselves as one of the region’s leading centers for clinical research. Current clinical trials include:- The use of a liver assist device to render patients with acute, but possibly also chronic liver disease suitable for liver transplantation (bridge therapy)
- The use of novel immunosuppresive agents to decrease the likelihood of re-infection of the allograft after transplantation in patients with hepatitis C
Our patients also benefit from the shared expertise and ongoing clinical advancements throughout the Transplant Center. Our groundbreaking work in the area of tolerance induction for kidney transplant patients also has exciting applications for liver transplantation. Read a news article about this breakthrough
Patients interested in participating in clinical trials can browse online for open trials.
Conditions and Diseases
The links below provide more information about conditions and diseases that might be treated within this program.
Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease
Alcohol-induced liver disease, as the name implies, is caused by excessive consumption of alcohol and is a common, but preventable, disease.
Alcoholic Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. Alcoholic hepatitis is a complex problem and is a precursor to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
Autoimmune Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. In autoimmune hepatitis, the body's own immune system destroys the cells of the liver. It is a chronic inflammatory liver disease with no known cause.
Biliary Cirrhosis / Bile Duct Cancer
Biliary cirrhosis is a rare form of liver cirrhosis, caused by disease or defects of the bile ducts. Symptoms usually include cholestasis (accumulation of bile in the liver). There are two types of biliary cirrhosis: primary biliary cirrhosis - inflammation and destruction of bile ducts in the liver. secondary biliary cirrhosis - results from prolonged bile duct obstruction or narrowing or closure of the bile duct.
Chronic Liver Disease / Cirrhosis
Chronic liver disease is marked by the gradual destruction of liver tissue over time. Several liver diseases fall under this category, including cirrhosis of the liver and fibrosis of the liver.
Congenital Liver Defects
Defects of the liver at birth usually affect the bile ducts. Though rare, some congenital liver defects include the following: biliary atresia, a condition in which the bile ducts are absent or have developed abnormally, and choledochal cyst - a malformation of the hepatic duct that can obstruct flow of bile in infants.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious and sometimes serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a blood-borne microorganism transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis B virus through infectious body fluids.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C (once called non-A, non-B hepatitis) is a liver disease caused by a recently identified blood-borne virus.
Liver Tumors
Tumors are abnormal masses of tissue that form when cells begin to reproduce at an increased rate. The liver can grow both non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) tumors.
Support and Wellness
The Transplant Center is dedicated to ensuring that people understand their health care choices and have the necessary information to make decisions affecting their health and well being. The related support and wellness information listed below can play a role in treatment options.
A Patient Guide to Transplantation
Read the Transplant Center's award-winning patient education guide, Transplantation: What Do I Need to Know?
The following related clinical trials and research studies are currently seeking participants at Massachusetts General Hospital. Search for clinical trials and studies in another area of interest.
Liver Transplant Program
55 Fruit StreetBoston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-724-3872
Public Transportation Access: yes
Disabled Access: yes
Make an appointment at the Transplant Center 
Contact the Transplant Center to schedule an appointment with one of our transplant specialists
