We live in Ft. Walton. When my husband had living donor kidney transplant in 2012, we went to Mayo Jacksonville. It is a straight shot on I-10. Mayo is located on the SE side, so the only major traffic in the whole trip is Jacksonville itself. Even that can be avoided by taking the bypass. Mayo has Gabriel House for people waiting for transplant, recently transplanted. Very inexpensive, but very nice. http://www.gabrielhouseofcare.org

We’ve had to relocate to Jacksonville twice (for eight weeks each) for an unrelated medical treatment and we used ExecuStay.

I don’t know about the window in hours for liver transplant, but you may have to relocate to Jacksonville.

The doctor is the one who will make the transplant arrangements, and it sounds as if he won’t initiate it until proven stopping drinking has been demonstrated. As to the GI comments, your husband should start with AA or some other sobriety group immediately. He will have a sponsor who will be one of the people to vouch for him. His work, church and professional organizations might also be sources for people familiar with the situation to vouch for him. No center will give a liver to someone who may abuse it.

@bamagirlgina, I want to say, "Good Morning, and Welcome to Mayo Connect". No apology needed, you are not barging in! We call it "Joining the conversation" and that is why we are here. I am a liver/kidney transplant recipient, and I can understand that panicked feeling you describe. I am happy that you are already in contact with some other members who have shared their experience. It does help to know that you are not alone. We are all here to help and to walk with you.

Here are some resources that explain eligibility, alcohol use, support, being listed, as well as contact information.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/eligibility-for-liver-or-kidney-transplant/
Alchoholic Hepatitus - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcoholic-hepatitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351388

Maybe after you read these articles, you could conference with your GI or your PCP about a next step for your husband's situation. He will definitely need someone to monitor the alcohol consumption. It is to your advantage to be informed and beyond the panic, to move forward and to have a reasonable conversation.

Your questions are always welcome! There are also many transplant discussions happening in our Transplant Discussion Group
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/transplants/

I look forward to hearing from you.
Rosemary

@bamagirlgina I'm sorry to hear what you and your husband are going through. Was he an alcoholic or just a social drinker? When my cirrhosis was diagnosed I was told to not drink but I had just been a social drinking, basically having a glass of wine with dinner, so I don't believe that impacted the time I would need to be alcohol free.
I was accepted as a transplant candidate when I was 67 and transplanted at 68, 2 days short of my 69th birthday. I presume the doctor who made the age comment is not actually at a transplant center. My transplant and pre-transplant care was at Mass General Hospital and they look at a person's overall health and fragility, not specifically chronological age. I am fortunate in that we live in southern NH, about 55 miles from Boston with some of the best medical care in the world. It takes about 2 hours to get there with mid-day traffic but it's worth it.
I was not familiar with what BHM might be so I googled -- Baptist of Miami? I'm not familiar with that hospital but of course both Mayo in Jacksonville and Oschner are very highly regarded. If BHM is Baptist, they are not listed as doing liver transplants.
If you go to SRTR.org and put in your zip code you can find the hospitals that do liver transplants within however many miles you input. There are five within 250 miles of Pensacola, with Oschner being the closest.
I wish you luck on this journey and please ask any questions you need to ask. That's what this forum is for, to help each other by responding to questions, as long as it is not medical advice.
JK

Hi @bamagirlgina - just want to echo the warm welcomes you've received from our other members and let you know we're here to help answer any questions. @keggebraaten and I are moderators of this group - not patients but Mayo Clinic employees, so let us know if we can help connect you to our appointment office or share more information about potentially coming to our Jacksonville campus.

Hi again, @bamagirlgina. I’m at our Jacksonville campus today and connected with a colleague in the transplant center who shared some additional information with me that might be helpful for your situation. He recommended getting connected with a transplant center soon so that your husband can begin the evaluation process. The issues you described are not uncommon and it’s much better to identify all issues that may be a barrier so they can be addressed early in the transplantation process. My colleague advised that our Jacksonville campus treats many patients from the panhandle and routinely transplants patients in their 60s, so your husband’s age shouldn't be a barrier. In fact, according to SRTR.org. 28% of the patients receiving a liver transplant at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville are over age 65 (which is above the national average). I hope this helps! PS- the colleague I spoke to is also a member on here, @transplantcenteratmayoclinicflorida so feel free to contact him directly by sending a message if you have more questions.

-Kristen

Thank you for the welcome and the information. We actually had an appointment with our GI/Liver specialist today and talked withm hi about a referral to the Jax Mayo Center. He indicated he is going to move forward with sending a referral to the center. It was my understanding that someone from the center would be contacting us after receiving the referral from him. Is that correct?

@bamagirlgina, My transplant team at my home area, made my referral to Mayo Rochester, because they had reached a deadend in my treatment. My husband thinks that our local transplant doctor told us that he had sent the information that they requested for the referral. We do know that we received a packet from Mayo with appointment schedule, details, registration etc.

I am happy that your husband is going to be receiving treatment.
Rosemary

@rosemarya Rosemary, you had a local transplant center? I just always assumed that you did not which was why you were transferred to Mayo. There are NO transplant centers for liver in NH. I believe that Dartmouth Hitchcock does do kidney transplants, but that's all.

My doctor referred me to a different transplant center but we did not care for it there so I researched it myself and chose Mass General. I felt a little bit bad because I think he had put some effort into finding a place for me and he had obviously spoken to the doctor there a few times but neither my husband or I liked her at all.
JK

Hi @bamagirlgina So glad to hear things are moving along with getting your husband to Mayo. I know you and @transplantcenteratmayoclinicflorida exchanged messages after you posted this question, but to confirm, yes – you should be hearing from Mayo Clinic’s campus in Jacksonville once they receive all of the referral information. If you don’t hear from them in the next few days, feel free to call our appointment office: 904-956-3309. Thanks!

@contentandwell, Yes, I did. I was on the transplant list at the Univ of Kentucky which is only 40 mile/minutes from my home.

We were very pleased with the care that we received there. I really liked the doctors and all of the medical team while I was a patient there. We were also thrilled because we could live at home, and have relatives and friends nearby. But...one day my labs indicated the possible presence of tumor cells. (that was right after I was told to get ready because I would probably be called soon) Then next day, another blood draw to double check result, and next day I had endoscopy to get tissue samples, but they were not able to get any samples due to the blockages in my bile ducts. I was inactivated from the transplant list. The head of the department made arrangements for us to go to Mayo to see the specialist in cholangiocarcinoma.

Two days before our flight to Rochester after a difficult week, I went to the ER. I was experiencing acute renal failure and ended up in ICU at UofK instead of flying to Rochester. I missed my appointment. After emergency dialysis, I began to stabilize. That is when the same same dept head/surgeon talked to Mayo and made arrangements to fly me to Rochester via air ambulance after 5 days.

I spent 2 weeks in the Mayo Methodist Hospital, continued the (hopefully temporary) dialysis. I did not have the cancer, was re-evaluated and approved for a liver transplant. I continued on dialysis, but there was no improvement in their function. I had some more evaluations and was also listed for a kidney transplant, too. I remained on dialysis until transplant. I could look forward to one surgery instead of two, with both organs coming from the same deceased donor. Yes that was frightening, because there needed to be 2 good organs instead of one. The doctors were always honest and encouraging to me.

It was an extremely difficult time, mentally, physically, and spiritually. That is why I wrote the blog article about Staying Positive While Waiting when I was approached about it. There was absolutely no other choice for me. I wanted to live. I wanted to go home again.

My own experience tells me that miracles do happen. That is why I like to say, "I believe in miracles"!
Rosemary