What are the topmost tips to choose the best liver transplant centre?
If you need a liver transplant, you need to ensure that you come across the best care. You need to choose the place which is convenient and makes you get the best treatment you need. However, these are not always the best choice.
- Research the centers performance
Choosing the best liver centre is an important decision. Going with the best one will offer you a multidisciplinary approach which means under one roof you will be getting treatment for different issues. You will have access to the surgeon, laboratory services, transplant pharmacy, patient education, financial support, immunologist, and many more. Some of the key points which you need to keep in mind are:
- Ask the average length of stay.
- Length of the waiting list
- Current one-year survival rate depending on the diagnosis.
- The total number of liver transplants completed in one year.
- The doctor’s experience along with the support team.
- The quality of the treatment they provide.
- Interview the transplant team
Once you narrow down the list of liver transplant centres, you should call and ask for the consultation appointment to meet and get to know the transplant team. Some of the major questions which you need to ask the transplant team are:
- Do you provide treatment to patients with a similar problem?
- What is the method of accepting the liver?
- What is the total number of transplant teams?
- How many surgeons are on the team who can tell about the certain type of transplant?
- How many similar types of transplants have you done in the past?
- Am I allowed to take a tour of the transplant unit?
Make sure the doctor you are choosing should be allowing you to ask you questions and also take your opinions.
- Consider geographic location
Geography should not be just the prime factor while looking for the transplant but is an important part. Make sure the centre you are choosing should be within your reach and in case of emergency it should not take much time. In case you call to understand something or want to inquire about something then make sure they are responding to you on time.
- Determine the treatment cost
Make sure that you understand about the treatment cost properly. The centre should be giving you different options to pay the treatment cost. In case you cannot pay at once then there should be ways to manage everything. The experienced and reliable doctor will be able to tell you better about these things.
- Check the listing of different centres
Each transplant centre has different rules and you must check the listing properly. Listing with multiple centres is going to reduce the wait time for the liver. Consider the centre whose waiting list can help you get the treatment on time.