Patient Resources
The following information is a brief list of diseases that may indicate eventual need for transplantation. This list does not cover all disease processes leading to transplantation, nor is this suggesting that having one of the listed diseases will always lead to transplantation. Please check with your Physician for more detailed information regarding these and other disease processes.
Chronic Renal Failure - The 5 Most Common Causes
Societies
- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)
- American Liver Foundation
- American Society of Transplant Surgeons
- International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS)
- Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania
- NATCO - The Organization for Transplant Professionals
- Paired Donation Network
Journals
- American Journal of Transplantation
- AMA
- Journal of the Transplantation Society
- Liver Transplantation
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Transplantation International
Additional Resources
Diseases by Systems
Government Agencies
- United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
- The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)
- Food and Drug Administration
- National Institute of Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Department of Health and Human Services
- American Medical Association
- World Health Organization
- Association of American Medical Colleges
- Health Information Management Society
- AHCPR Guidelines
Medications
Antibody: part of the immune system that helps the body fight infection and foreign substances.
Antigen: the "marker" that stimulates antibody production.
Ascites: excess fluid in the abdomen.
Bile: a fluid produced by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released into the small intestine to help absorb dietary fats.
Contraindication: any condition which renders some particular line of treatment undesirable.
Diastolic: the bottom of two blood pressure numbers, which measures the force of the heart muscle at rest, when it expands and fills with blood.
Edema: excess fluid in body tissues; swelling of the ankles, for example, is a sign of edema.
Endotracheal tube: an airway tube inserted through the mouth leading to your windpipe to help you breathe during surgery.
Engorgement: local congestion due to the accumulation of fluids, usually blood.
Foley catheter: a tube inserted into the bladder to drain urine.
Fulminant: sudden and severe.
Hepatologist: a physician who studies the liver and treats liver disease.
Hypertension: high blood pressure.
Immune system: the system that protects the body from the invasion of foreign substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and from cancer cells.
Immunosuppressant: an agent given to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ.
Jaundice: a yellowish discoloration of the skin resulting from high levels of bilirubin in the blood.
Occult: difficult to observe, concealed.
Systolic: the top blood pressure number which measures the force of contraction of the heart muscle as blood is pumped out of the heart chambers.
T-Tube: a tube placed in the bile duct that allows bile to drain into a bag outside the body.
Video presentations from the 5th Annual Liver Transplantation Symposium held in Hershey, Pennsylvania, are available for viewing:
- Dealing with Addiction in Liver Transplantation: Case Studies
- New Breakthroughs in the Treatment of Hepatitis C
- Patient Discussion Panel: Patient Experience with Living Liver Donor Transplantation
- Prevention of Post Transplant Viral Infections
- Side Effects of Post Transplant Immunosuppression: Case Presentation
- The Need for Living Liver Donor Transplantation
- Where the Liver Goes, the Kidney Follow: Hepatorenal Syndrome