Survival Rates For Liver Transplant Patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

A successful organ transplant depends on appropriate evaluation of the organ recipient, expertise in the surgical procedures required to transplant the organ and on-going monitoring after transplant to prevent organ rejection or infections.

To measure the quality of care provided to liver transplant patients, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center examines one-month, one-year and three-year survival rates. These measures are compared against national averages.

The length of time that a transplant patient survives after surgery is a key measure of a quality outcome in transplant surgery. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one-month, one-year and three-year survival rates are tracked for transplants patients. These statistics are compared to national averages collected by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

The table below compares key outcome measurements for liver transplants done at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with those for the nation as a whole. Both the numbers and percentages of liver transplant patients surviving one month, one year and three years are highlighted.

In addition, survival rates for liver transplant patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are also compared to expected survival rates based on national experience and to survival rates expected for liver transplant patients with similar ages and health conditions.

The one-month and one-year survival rates reflect patients receiving their first transplant between Jan. 1, 2005 and June 30, 2007. The three-year survival rates reflect patients receiving their first transplant between July 1, 2002 and Dec. 31, 2004.

Liver Transplant* (Adults Age 18+) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center U.S. Data
Patient Survival for: 1 Month 1 Year 3 Years 1 Month 1 Year 3 Years
For transplants performed Jan 2005 - June 2007 Jan 2005 - June 2007 July 2002 - Dec 2004 Jan 2005 - June 2007 Jan 2005 - June 2007 July 2002 - Dec 2004
Number of transplants 94 94 90 12,749 12,749 11,525
Percent of patients surviving at the end of period observed** 96.81% 89.43% 76.67% 96.34% 87.29% 78.09%
Expected, based on national experience*** 95.98% 86.23% 73.00%
Cedars-Sinai's survival rates compared to what is expected for similar patients Not significantly different Not significantly different Not significantly different

* These statistics reflect adult patients age 18+ who had their first liver transplant. Patients who were having other organs transplanted at the same time (multiple organ transplant) are not included.

** Observed survival rates use the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate outcomes for patients for whom complete follow-up is not expected. Because different cohorts are followed for each time period, it is possible for the reported three-year survival to exceed one-year survival.

*** The survival rate that would be expected for the patients served by the center, given the characteristic mix of the recipient and donor (age, disease and blood type, etc.) and the experience of similar patients in the United States as a whole.