tive medical criteria, and are in a critical care unit of a hospital. Status 2B patients have chronic liver failure and are becoming urgently in need of a transplant, but do not fit the criteria for Status 2A. Status 3 patients have chronic liver disease, and are under constant medical care, but are not hospitalized, except for short stays. They do not meet the criteria for Status 2B.
MELD is a method for giving patients awaiting a liver transplant a score based on how urgently they need a transplant within the next three months (UNOS, 2002). The MELD score is calculated from routine laboratory tests results, and is standardized for all hospitals. The MELD is a very precise method for ranking patients so that those most in need of a transplant will be given the highest priority. The MELD score will replace the Status 1, 2A, 2B, and 3 system.
MELD scores are calculated using a simple formula based on three readily available measures: serum creatinine (Ser; mg/dL), total bilirubin (Tbil; mg/dL), and the International Normalized Ratio (INR) (Drug
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