The University of Michigan Pediatric Liver Transplant Program is dedicated to the evaluation and care of children with liver diseases that require transplantation. Examples of these diseases include inborn errors of metabolism (e.g., argininosuccinic aciduria and tyrosinemia), autoimmune hepatitis, and biliary atresia. The pediatric liver transplant program is overseen by the surgical director, Dr. John Magee, and the medical director, Dr. M. James Lopez who coordinate the care of all the pediatric patients with a team that includes a transplant nurse, a transplant social worker, a transplant dietician, and a transplant psychologist. The program is part of a combined adult and pediatric liver transplant program and, thus, benefits from the expertise of the adult hepatology and the adult transplant programs.

As the only pediatric transplant center in the state of Michigan, we feel an obligation to offer the best possible care to every child in the state who has serious liver disease and requires a liver transplant. However, we also evaluate and transplant patients from outside the state of Michigan as well. Our program offers whole organ cadaveric transplants, split organ transplants, and living donor transplants to pediatric patients. A full range of pediatric subspecialists and services are available to both inpatients and outpatients before and after transplantation. All pediatric patients who require hospitalization are housed in the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. While hospitalized, all children have 24 hour coverage by residents, fellows, and attending physicians during their hospital stay.

Although the primary emphasis in transplantation has been on survival, the great success of liver transplantation has allowed us to shift more of our focus to the issue of quality of life following transplantation and research to improve outcomes. We, currently, participate in national studies of pediatric liver transplantation and acute liver failure. We are in the early stages of studying factors which predict quality of life, medication adherence, and successful transition to adult medical care with the long-term goal of improving long-term outcomes for all pediatric recipients of liver transplants.