MICHAEL MENDOZA: UVA is the only center in Virginia that regularly does pediatric liver transplants. 

SARA RASMUSSEN: We’re the first hospital in the United States to forge a liver transplant program in conjunction with another center, and for us that center is the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. That program is a leading program in the country with some of the best outcomes in pediatric liver transplantation in the world, and we have a shoulder to shoulder partnership with them in managing these kids. 

MICHAEL MENDOZA: We are all extensions of what that child and what that family needs, and because pediatric liver disease and liver transplant is so complex, we do need that big team. There are so many factors playing into the success of a child after transplant. 

BETH SALAJEGHEH: From the surgeon, to the hepatology, to the social worker, financing; we try to help them, not only as a patient and a family, but just to kind of get them through the pre-transplant phase, transplant phase, and then post-transplant phase, and know that we’re there for them the entire time. 

SARA RASMUSSEN: I think the future of pediatric liver transplant at UVA is extremely bright. Every time we meet a new family that we may be able to help, we all put everything we have into making sure things go smoothly. And the institution as a whole has made it very clear that they want this to continue to be the place in Virginia for a child to receive a liver transplant if they need one. And they’ve brought to bear all the resources necessary to make that happen.