I called UPMC's transplant coordinator this morning and was told they declined putting John on the transplant list. Talk about the wind being let out of your sails. She said we should make an appointment with John's liver specialist for details and who knows what else. I don't know what options, if any, are available. He already has an appt. next Wednesday the 20th that was put on hold, so I called the office and asked if we should keep that one. Haven't received a call back yet. I guess we can try Allegheny General Hospital, also in Pittsburgh. He was an inpatient there in January. They have a liver center that's been functioning for about a year. Maybe they take more high-risk patients. Then again, I thought UPMC was known for that.
I'm still not sure what the specific reasons were for denying him, although his current state of weakness is one. I asked if he could be presented again if he were stronger and she said he could, but not with a lot of conviction. His current MELD score is 26, which is acceptable, so I don't know.
By the way, MELD stands for Model End-Stage Liver Disease which gives each person a score based on how urgently one needs a liver transplant within the next three months. The score is calculated by a formula using bilirubin, creatinine and INR (clotting factor) lab test results. The range can be from 6 to 40, the higher the number, the more critical the need for a transplant within 3 months. How much weight this carries when evaluating a patient, I don't know.
Needless to say, this decision is not the one what we wanted to hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment