Children’s Hospital Colorado Announces Record-Breaking Year in Liver Transplants

Children’s Hospital Colorado has reached a historic milestone for its Liver Transplant Program, performing a record-breaking number of transplants in 2024. With 22 liver transplants completed, Children’s Colorado surpassed the program's previous record of 20 transplants in 2021. As a nationally recognized transplant program, Children’s Colorado has the only pediatric-focused, multi-specialty program in the Rocky Mountain region with the lowest waitlist times in the nation. It is one of only six pediatric transplant programs nationally with significant experience performing living donor liver transplants.

Pediatric liver transplant program harnesses every donor option

This achievement reflects not only the steady growth of the Liver Transplant Program over the last decade but also the team’s commitment to utilizing every available option possible to get children transplanted quickly, including grafts from directed living donors (donating to a specific person), non-directed living donors (donating to a stranger) and reduced-size or split grafts from deceased donors.

Living donors drive 40% of pediatric liver transplants

"When I look at this data, it’s striking to see that while living donors make up roughly 15% of pediatric liver transplants nationally, they account for 40% of transplants at Children’s Colorado,” said Dr. Amy Feldman, Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at Children’s Colorado. "This highlights our unique expertise and experience performing living donor liver transplants. With the help of our adult colleagues at the University of Colorado and the altruistic community, we are able to get kids transplanted before they experience significant morbidity and mortality."

Children’s Colorado draws pediatric liver patients from across the nation

In 2024, patients traveling from out of state made up 43% of liver transplants performed at Children’s Colorado, underscoring the program's regional and national impact. The breadth of diagnoses of children transplanted in 2024 – such as Wilson’s disease, biliary atresia, acute liver failure, Budd-Chiari syndrome, congenital hepatic fibrosis, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension – demonstrates the team’s depth of expertise and ability to address complex medical needs quickly, before patients become too sick to transplant.

Advances allow successful pediatric liver transplants in a wide range of patients

"Achieving this milestone required tremendous dedication and teamwork,” said Dr. Michael Wachs, Surgical Director of the Abdominal Transplant Program at Children’s Colorado." We have embraced cutting-edge advances, such as plasmapheresis and intraoperative dialysis for small children, allowing us to safely take on risks while maintaining excellent outcomes."

Lowest pediatric liver transplant wait times in the country

The success of the Liver Transplant Program this past year would not have been possible without the steadfast support of Children’s Colorado, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCHealth) and the unwavering commitment of the entire transplant team to deliver the lowest waitlist times in the country – less than two months, compared to the national average of eight months – and the best possible patient outcomes. As the program continues to grow, it is positioned to expand its reach and impact on a larger regional and national scale to help save the lives of more children.

How to become a living liver donor

In partnership with UCHealth, any non-directed liver donor, or a person who donates a portion of their liver without knowing the person receiving the donation, will first be offered to a patient on the Children’s Colorado waitlist. To be a living donor, one needs to be a healthy adult between the ages of 18-55. The donor does not need to be related to the recipient in any way to save their life. Surgeons at UCHealth are now able to perform the donor operation with robotic assistance, allowing for donors to be out of the hospital in just a few days. To learn more about the process of becoming a donor, go to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Transplant Center. For more information about pediatric liver transplants, visit Children’s Colorado Liver Transplant Program.