Liver Transplant Waiting List — Find Your Center
The U.S. liver transplant waiting list is managed by OPTN/UNOS and is shared across every transplant program in the country. Where you sit on that list — and how long you wait — depends on your MELD score, the program you're listed at, and how that program sits relative to the donor hospitals in its area. Under the 2020 OPTN acuity-circle policy, a liver offer from a given donor hospital goes out to candidates whose transplant center is inside a 150, 250, or 500 nautical-mile circle drawn around that donor hospital — circles cross state lines, region lines, and former DSA lines freely. This map shows every U.S. liver transplant center with its SRTR-reported wait time, MELD-at-transplant distribution, and survival rates so you can find centers near you and ask better questions.
Built for patients and caregivers, not for ranking hospitals. Not medical advice. Always confirm listing eligibility, insurance acceptance, and clinical fit with your transplant team.
What is the liver transplant waiting list?
The liver transplant waiting list is the federally managed registry of patients in the U.S. who have been listed at a transplant center for a deceased-donor or living-donor liver. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), operated by UNOS, maintains the list. Priority is based primarily on the MELD score — a lab-derived estimate of how sick a patient is — combined with the geographic match between donor hospital and transplant center under the OPTN acuity-circle policy (150 / 250 / 500 nautical-mile circles drawn around each donor hospital), plus standardized exception scores for conditions like liver cancer that MELD alone underestimates. Waitlist mortality measures how many patients die or are removed from the list while waiting; it is one of the most important honest signals of how a center performs across its full population, not just the patients who reach transplant.
How to use this map
Tap a pin to open that center's program card with wait time, MELD-at-transplant distribution, and survival rates. Open the NF Navigator panel to enter your home ZIP and MELD score so the map can sort centers by drive distance and show how your MELD compares to the centers' recent transplant population. Compare any two pins by clicking them in succession. Share a comparison by copying the URL — it preserves which centers you have open.
For deeper SRTR field definitions, the six highlighted programs, and the program comparison table, see Compare Centers →.
Map of all United States Liver Transplant Centers
Hover over a pushpin to see the name of an individual transplant center. Click the pushpin to see that center's specific statistics. Use the NF (“National Friends”) Navigator to see how your own MELD score uses SRTR1 to compare your score against any transplant center's published outcomes. Use this to plan your specific situation as you wish to plan it for your own benefit.
Legend
From you (—)
Your MELD marker YOUR MELD —
Each bar shows how often this hospital transplants patients at that MELD score. The taller the bar over your MELD, the more often this hospital transplants people at your score — a quick read on whether you fit this hospital's recent pattern.
Enter your MELD above to personalize this panel.
Waitlist outcome flow LAST CYCLE
Post-transplant outcomes
Program capabilities
SRTR risk flags
← Back to comparison tableLiver transplant waiting list — frequently asked questions
How long is the waiting list for a liver transplant?
The wait varies dramatically by transplant center — from a few months to several years — depending on your MELD score, blood type, and the donor supply in the center's region. Two patients with the same MELD score can have very different wait times depending on where they're listed. See Compare Centers for current wait times by program.1
How long do you wait for a liver transplant in the US?
There is no single national wait time. Wait depends on your MELD score, your blood type, and the program where you're listed. Donor liver availability differs by region, and centers vary in patient volume and the criteria they apply when accepting organs. Explore wait time by center on the interactive map.1
What is the average wait time for a liver transplant?
A national average is misleading because center-to-center variation is so large. Some centers have median waits measured in months; others measure in years. The Compare Centers table shows program-level median wait, transplant rate, and waitlist mortality so you can see where your situation actually stands.1
Why do liver transplant wait times vary by center?
Three reasons drive the variation: donor availability differs by geographic region, centers with more patients on their list face more competition for each organ, and centers differ in which organs they will accept and which patients they will list. See our Waitlist Guide for the longer explanation.1
How do I get on the liver transplant waiting list?
You need a referral to a transplant center and a formal evaluation by that center's transplant team. After evaluation, the center's screening committee decides whether to list you. You have the right to choose your transplant center and to seek evaluation at more than one program.1
Can I be on more than one liver transplant waiting list?
Yes. This is called dual listing (or multiple listing) and it is allowed. You complete separate evaluations at each center and must meet each center's criteria independently. Your MELD score follows you, but you appear on each center's list separately — which can shorten time to an offer.1
What is MELD score and how does it affect my place on the list?
MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) is a score from 6 to 40 calculated from blood tests measuring bilirubin, creatinine, and INR. Higher MELD means higher priority — sicker patients get offered livers first. Priority is based on illness severity, not how long you've been waiting. Full detail on the MELD Score page.1
What happens if I get too sick to transplant?
Some patients are removed from the waitlist if the transplant team judges them too sick for surgery to be safe. This is a real clinical decision but it makes a center's mortality number look better than it is. If you face this situation, a second evaluation at another center is allowed and may be appropriate.1
1 Reviewed by the National Friends Medical Advisory Board. Underlying clinical and registry sources (OPTN, SRTR, UNOS) are cited on the advisory board page.
About this content
This page is reviewed by a member of the National Friends Medical Advisory Board. We base our content on official sources — the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), and UNOS allocation policy — written in plain language for patients and caregivers. We update the page when policy or data changes. Not medical advice — always consult your transplant team.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-25
Related pages on the liver transplant waiting list
- Compare Liver Transplant Centers — full SRTR data table with wait times, MELD-at-transplant, and survival by program.
- MELD Score explained — how MELD 3.0 is calculated and how it affects priority on the waiting list.
- Dual Listing — the rules for being on more than one liver transplant waiting list and how it can shorten time to transplant.
- Your Patient Rights — your right to choose your transplant center, request a second evaluation, and obtain your medical records.
- Understanding Your Risk — what a low MELD score does and does not mean about your waitlist mortality risk.
- How the Waiting List Works — the OPTN/UNOS process, the acuity-circle policy, and waitlist mortality measurement.