For patients who need a liver transplant, the Duke Liver Program offers comprehensive evaluation and care, including traditional transplants and living donor transplants. 

Our experienced team has performed more than 900 transplants since the program was established in 1984. In 2012, the program's survival rates were the best in North Carolina, and the transplant rate for patients on the wait list was higher than expected.

Managing Complicated Liver Diseases

Transplant is an option when the liver can no longer perform vital functions and when the liver disease can't be corrected in any other way.

Duke hepatologists, skilled hepatobiliary and transplant surgeons, and specialized nurse coordinators work with other specialists to diagnose and manage liver diseases, including hepatitis C viral infection, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and glycogen storage disease.

Once a patient has been referred to Duke, our dedicated team of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians, and medical psychologists will help determine if a liver transplant is the right treatment for you. If and when you become a transplant patient, the same group of professionals will take care of you throughout the transplant process.

You can expect to be discharged from the hospital within one to two weeks after your operation, but you will need to remain in Durham for another two weeks for frequent clinic visits.

Remember that each person is different, and your recovery depends on your progress or development of complications.

Living Donor Liver Transplant Program

In 1997, Duke implemented a living donor liver transplant program for children and adults. For patients to participate in the living donor program, they must first meet eligibility criteria for the UNOS Liver Transplant Waiting List.

In living donor liver transplants, part of the liver of a living adult donor is removed and transplanted into the person who is sick. In about two months, the recipient’s new liver grows to normal size.

More information about living-donor eligibility and the donation process is available in the Living-Donor Information care guide.

Exceptional Care, Positive Outcomes

Duke’s work has enhanced the prospects of liver transplant patients around the nation by contributing to advancements in transplant techniques and post-transplant treatments.

In 2012, the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients showed that our observed patient survival rates were higher than expected and the best in North Carolina.

The program earned a 2010 Bronze Medal from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Transplant Center Growth and Management collaborative.

Access to Innovative Clinical Trials

Patients can often benefit from clinical trials by gaining access to treatments before they are widely available.

For information on the latest and upcoming trials involving liver transplant, please contact Sherri Jarvis.

Visit DukeHealth.org's clinical trials section for additional clinical trial participation opportunities.

Pre-Transplant Coordinator

• Anne Anthony, RN, MSN
• Debra Bernardina, RN, BSN, CCTC

Post-Transplant Coordinators

• Tracie Curtis, RN, BSN, CCTC
• Julie Hudson, RN, MSN, CTCC
• Susan Gagan, RN, BSN, CTCC
• Marion Stewart, RN, BSN, CCTC
• David Cousino, RN, BSN (Pediatric)

Pediatric Nurse Clinician

• Kristen Shutz RN, BSN

Transplant Social Workers

• Karli Pontillo, MSW, LCSW
• Shani Foy-Watson, MSW, LCSW

Transplant Program Specialist

• Melissa Chapin

Study Coordinator

• Sherri Jarvis, RN, 919-681-6898

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Berg, Carl L.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Brady, Carla W.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Brennan, Todd V.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
• Collins, Bradley H.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
• Diehl, Anna Mae E.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Muir, Andrew J.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Patel, Keyur
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Ravindra, Kadiyala V.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
• Smith, Alastair D.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Sudan, Debra L.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
  • Pediatrics / Pediatrics-Chairman Office
• Vikraman, Deepak
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant

Locations

This service is available at:

• General and Thoracic Surgery, Transplant
  Duke Clinic 2B/2C, 40 Duke Medicine Circle, Durham, NC 27710