Top Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplant Program in the Country

No. 1 in U.S. for Pediatric Living Donor Transplants

Pediatric living donor liver transplants are lifesaving procedures in which a portion of a healthy person’s liver is transplanted into a child with end-stage liver disease. Because the liver can regenerate, the living donor’s liver grows back, and the transplanted portion grows to full size in the child.

Children’s Colorado has the top pediatric living donor liver transplant program in the country based on our transplant volumes and outcomes. Living donor liver transplantation allows our experts to plan children’s transplants instead of waiting for a liver to become available.

Scheduled surgeries mean the operation can be carefully timed when both donor and recipient are in optimal health. Every moment a child waits for a liver can mean the difference between life and loss, so shorter wait times lead to lower costs and better results by avoiding emergency hospitalizations and other pre-transplant expenses.

With unmatched outcomes, pioneering techniques and a bold vision to eliminate the pediatric liver transplant waitlist, philanthropic investments in this area can help save more lives faster and make it so that no child dies waiting for a liver.

Then

During pregnancy, Stephanie learned her baby likely had a serious heart defect. She was referred to the Colorado Fetal Care Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where baby Bryce arrived two months early weighing just 3 pounds. At 3 months old, Bryce was diagnosed with Alagille syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting the liver, heart and other organs. By 10 months old, his liver was failing, and a transplant was the only option to save his life; remarkably, his dad, Andrew, was a perfect match.

In 2018, father and son underwent living liver donor and transplant surgeries just blocks apart—Andrew at the University of Colorado Hospital and Bryce at Children’s Colorado. Bryce received a piece of his father’s liver, saving his life. “It was the most precious gift we could ever give him,” Andrew says.

Now

Today, Bryce is a thriving 8-year-old second grader who loves soccer, dinosaurs and cars. He’s caught up on his developmental and physical milestones and recently scored five goals in a soccer season he still beams about. A former Patient Ambassador, Bryce has enjoyed a Make-A-Wish trip to Florida and, in 2025, became a proud big brother. His family says Children’s Colorado made it possible for Bryce to simply be a kid — enjoying school, friends and life every day.