During a liver transplant, your child's sick liver is removed. It's replaced with a healthy donor liver. This sheet will help you understand the process leading up to your child's transplant.

Biliary atresia is a serious liver problem that occurs in young infants. It involves a problem with the bile ducts (the tubes through which bile drains from the liver into the small intestine). In children with biliary atresia, bile ducts are damaged, missing, or not shaped correctly. Treatment must be done as soon as possible. Biliary atresia is treated with surgery. Even if this surgery goes well, the child will likely need a liver transplant sometime in the future.

The liver makes a substance called bile. It helps with digestion of food and helps carry waste out of the liver. Bile drains out of the liver through tubes called bile ducts. It drains through these ducts into the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). If a child has biliary atresia, it means that some or all bile ducts aren't formed correctly, are damaged, or are missing. As a result, bile can't drain from the liver as it should.

Your child has been diagnosed with a hepatitis infection. Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver. Many things can cause it. One of the causes is infection with a virus called the hepatitis C virus (HCV). In some cases, hepatitis C goes away on its own. But for most people, hepatitis C is a chronic (lifelong) problem. Hepatitis C almost never causes symptoms until later in the disease. Even so, hepatitis C can cause severe liver damage over time. And a child who has it can pass the virus to others.

Your child has been diagnosed with a hepatitis infection. Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver. Many things can cause it. One of the causes is infection with a virus called the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The illness caused by HBV infection can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). Acute hepatitis B causes flulike symptoms. It's usually mild in children. In most cases, the virus dies off after this acute infection. But if HBV stays in the child's body after the acute illness, this means the child has chronic hepatitis.

A HIDA scan is also called a hepatobiliary scintigraphy. It's a test that checks the function of your child’s liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts (tubes inside and outside the liver). It can show where bile is blocked or leaking.

A liver biopsy is a quick test that helps see how healthy your child's liver is. During a percutaneous liver biopsy, a needle is inserted through the skin and into the liver. A small sample of liver tissue is then taken. The tissue is sent to the lab to be studied.

This sheet describes common tests that may be done for liver problems. Your child's health care provider will tell you which of these tests your child needs.

Your child has been diagnosed with a liver problem. This sheet describes some of the common signs and symptoms your child may experience. Some mean your child should go to the emergency room. Others are not as serious, but you should still tell your child's doctor the first time you notice them.

The liver is in the upper right part of the belly. Most of it is protected by the ribs. The liver is a vital organ that has many jobs. This sheet details the function and anatomy of the liver.