Clinical trials, innovation and research

Our physicians and researchers are pioneers in transplanting the liver and other organs, including heart transplant, kidney transplant and intestine transplant. Many of the treatment protocols we developed are now common practice at other transplantation programs worldwide.

For patients, trusting your care to a team actively involved in researching new and emerging treatments means you get the most advanced care possible. In addition to offering the latest options available today, we are helping to develop and improve techniques and technologies for the future.

UCLA's History of Innovative Research

We are always engaged in leading clinical trials and research. Our innovations in liver transplantation and liver care include:

• Hepatitis C care: We are recognized leaders in treating viral hepatitis C and in managing pre- and post-transplant hepatitis C.
• Immunoglobulin for hepatitis B: We were the first to recommend immunoglobulin injection to treat hepatitis B - a treatment now considered the standard of care.
• Minimizing rejection: We've developed new treatments to minimize the risk of organ rejection.
• Expanding the liver donor pool: Our experience in living donor liver transplant makes our program one of the most exciting in terms of expanding the pool of potential liver donors. We are also one of a handful of programs that perform "domino" transplant in patients with amyloidosis. This procedure helps expand the liver donation pool by transplanting the amyloid liver into another patient.

Ongoing Innovations in Liver Transplant at UCLA

Our current research work and clinical trials include:

• Studying a portable finger-probe device that can measure liver function in potential donors.
• Developing a new method to more accurately calculate whether a patient's liver cancer is likely to recur after transplant, helping our physicians choose the best treatment pathway.
• Ongoing laboratory study of ischemia/reperfusion injury and its role in transplantation.
• Leading the nation's largest multi-center trial studying medication and other therapies to prevent recurring hepatocellular carcinoma in high-risk liver transplant patients.

Upcoming Research Opportunities in UCLA's Liver Program

UCLA currently is recruiting patients for upcoming research in our liver program.