Liver transplantation at UCLA. Program development, organization, initiation, and early results

The development of a liver transplantation program requires a multidisciplinary approach which can only be provided in a large tertiary referral medical center. Preparation for the clinical program involves training of all team members, both in the animal laboratory and at an established liver transplant center. A special commitment from the medical center to the program is essential and involves medical, nursing, and administrative divisions, blood bank, social service, and operating room personnel, and intensive care unit facilities. With careful planning, a successful liver transplant program can be realized from the onset. In the first 2 years of UCLA's liver transplant program, 62 transplants in 50 patients were performed. The overall survival rate was 72 percent with no operative deaths. Thirty-four of 36 surviving patients have returned to useful, productive lives after orthotopic liver transplantation.