Your primary contact for liver transplantation 

Teri Davis, MSN, RN: Hello, I'm Teri Davis, a transplant coordinator for Ohio State's Liver Transplant program.

During the transplant journey process, each patient is assigned a specialty-trained nurse who will be their primary contact to help them navigate through the transplant process. This includes education, testing, evaluation, wait listing, and surgery.

This transplant nurse coordinator also works together with the transplant team to identify needs for the patient, as well as instructs each patient on the benefits and risks of liver transplantation. If a person receives a referral for a liver transplant, the next step is to attend a class at Ohio State's Comprehensive Transplant Center. After this class, the patient is assigned a transplant coordinator, who will assist in test scheduling. These can include cardiac and pulmonary testing, and routine screenings like dental, colonoscopy, mammograms, and PAP smears.

The patient's MELD sodium score will also be monitored. This score estimates how well the liver is working. Once the patient meets all the pre-transplant requirements, the coordinator facilitates presenting the patient's case to the patient selection committee. If approved, collaboration begins with the transplant team. The team works to obtain patient insurance approval for surgery, and contacts the Ohio Solid Organ Transplant Consortium for approval to have the patient added to the liver transplant wait list.

As a transplant coordinator, we get to know our patients very well, and continue to guide them through their transplant journey to ensure that everything is ready when they receive their call.

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