Patient Stories

• After years of living with fatigue and ongoing monitoring following hepatitis C, Judy learned she developed liver cancer—starting a long, uncertain wait for answers.
• As months pass without movement toward a transplant. She is told factors like her MELD score and age may limit her options. Judy seeks a second opinion at UC Health.
• Just 15 days after being listed at UC Health, Judy receives a liver transplant—an outcome she believes is the reason she is still here today.

If you or a loved one is facing liver cancer or has been told to wait for a transplant, you may have more options than you realize. Call the UC Health Liver Transplant team at 513-584-9999 or click here to self-refer to our program.

Judy’s Path to a Liver Transplant

At 72 years old, Judy describes herself as a lifelong Ohioan, a wife of 36 years, a mother of two and a proud grandmother of four. From her home in the small town of Sidney—two hours north of UC Health—she never imagined she would one day need a liver transplant, let alone face months of uncertainty while waiting for answers.

Her journey began years earlier, when she was diagnosed with hepatitis C (a viral infection that can cause long-term liver damage if left untreated). After successful antiviral treatment, she continued routine monitoring for lingering liver damage. “I always knew something was wrong with me,” Judy shares. “I was always tired. I didn’t feel like a healthy 72-year-old. I felt like I caught every illness, and I never had the energy I should have.”

Eventually, imaging revealed two cancerous spots on her liver. That’s when her care team in Columbus, closer to her home, recommended she start the transplant evaluation process.

But months passed.

“I was waiting over four months just to be reviewed for transplant,” Judy says. “I hadn’t even gotten on the national list yet. It felt like everything moved so slowly.”

She had been told repeatedly that her age and her low MELD score would make getting a transplant difficult. The MELD score (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) is a number used to estimate how urgently someone needs a liver transplant, based on lab values rather than symptoms or cancer risk. “I felt like all these things were being held against me—my age, my MELD score, everything. I kept thinking maybe I should just wait and hope the cancer didn’t grow.”

Looking for Answers—and a Second Opinion

Then, something changed.

“I started seeing UC Health ads on Facebook saying they do liver transplants 50% faster,” she recalls. “And my daughter works at a hospital—one of her coworkers had her transplant at UC Health and kept telling her, ‘Your mom needs to go down there. Just go talk to them.’”

Still, she hesitated. She felt loyal to the hospital where she began care and didn’t realize that transplant programs could differ meaningfully, including how quickly patients are evaluated, listed and matched with donor organs.

“I thought every hospital had the same access to livers,” she says. “I didn’t realize every place operates differently.”

A conversation with one of her physicians finally pushed her forward. They encouraged her to seek a second listing, known as dual listing—when a patient is listed for transplant at more than one hospital to improve their chances of receiving an organ sooner. Judy scheduled an orientation at UC Health.

A New Sense of Hope

From the moment she arrived, Judy says everything felt different.

“I talked to everyone during orientation, and then the last person I spoke with was Dr. Quillin. He made me feel like age wasn’t a problem—like I was healthy enough and a good candidate.”

“Our philosophy is simple: treat the whole patient, not just their MELD score. Cancer changes the urgency, and age alone is never a reason to deny someone a chance at life,” explains Cutler Quillin, MD, UC Health Liver Transplant Surgeon

What stood out most was the optimism and urgency she felt from the team.

“At UC Health, they weren’t worried about my MELD score. They weren’t focused on exception points. They made me feel like time mattered to them as much as it mattered to me,” Judy shares. “I left thinking, ‘I should go home and pack my bags.’”

And she did.

A Life-Changing Call—15 Days Later

Just fifteen days after being listed at UC Health, Judy got the call that a liver was available.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she says, “After waiting months just for a committee review somewhere else, UC Health had me listed and transplanted in two weeks.”

Her surgery, performed by Dr. Quillin on September 12, 2025, went smoothly. She recounts, “I’m so relieved to have it behind me. It went very well.”

Care That Felt Seamless

Judy says she was most amazed by how coordinated and connected her care felt at UC Health.

“It has amazed me how all these working parts come together. Everyone knows your case. No one ever said, ‘Let me talk to another doctor.’ They all understood my whole picture. It makes you feel like you’re not just one of a million patients.”

“Transplant patients deserve precision, speed and compassion. Our team works as one, surgeons, hepatologists, coordinators, nurses, so patients like Judy never feel lost in the system,” Dr. Quillin explains.

Turning Experience Into Advocacy

Now that she is recovering, Judy finds herself encouraging others to take charge of their care.

“I tell people all the time, ‘Get on more than one transplant list,’” she says, “I even told a neighbor who’s been waiting for years, ‘Why are you waiting? Call UC Health.’ I’m so grateful I did.”

She hopes her story reminds others that seeking a second opinion can save your life.

“I didn’t realize all hospitals aren’t the same. UC Health impressed me from the minute I walked in the door. And I truly believe going there is the reason I’m still here.”

Take the Next Step

If you or a loved one is facing liver cancer or has been told to wait for a transplant, you may have more options than you realize. Call the UC Health Liver Transplant team at 513-584-9999 or click here to self-refer to our program.