(2024) Current Prognosis and Prospects of Liver Transplant

State of the Art: Current Prognosis and Prospects of Liver Transplant

2024 PFIC Family & Scientific Conference Family Session

Speaker: Dr. Henkjan Verkade. Click to read more about Dr. Verkade!

Pediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Dept. Pediatrics
Beatrix Children’s Hospital / 
University Medical Center Groningen
P.O. Box 30.001
9700 RB Groningen
The Netherlands
e-mail: h.j.verkade@umcg.nl

Website: https://www.rug.nl/staff/h.j.verkade/

Henkjan J. Verkade is a pediatric gastro/hepatologist at the Beatrix Children’s Hospital of the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. He received his PhD degree in Medicine cum laude at the University of Groningen on the thesis entitled “Lipid absorption and metabolism”. Henkjan Verkade was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. In 2005 Verkade was appointed Professor of Pediatrics, pediatric gastroenterology/hepatology, at the University Medical Center Groningen. 

Henkjan Verkade combines clinical work in pediatric gastro/hepatology with clinical and fundamental research projects. Verkade’s current research projects involve intestinal lipid absorption and metabolism, the enterohepatic circulation, and pediatric liver disease (familial cholestatic syndromes, biliary atresia, liver transplantation). In 2017 he initiated with Bettina Hansen the global NAPPED registry (NAtural Course and Prognosis of PFIC and Effect of Biliary Diversion) and in 2022 the prospective global TreatFIC database. The NAPPED registry has been helpful to further characterize the natural history of progressive familiar intrahepatic cholestasis syndromes and to identify prognostic parameters for the course of disease and for responsiveness to treatments. 

Verkade has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and more than 15 book chapters. Since 2019, he is associate editor of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.  He is also a member of the PFIC Network Medical Advisory Board.


Liver transplantation has become a standard treatment for many liver diseases. However, large scale pediatric liver transplantation has only started in the 80s of the last century. There have been major developments since then, with changes in the diseases that were reason to transplant and also in the prognosis after transplantation. In this presentation  the developments in pediatric liver transplantation with an emphasis on the prognosis that has currently been reached. Additionally, the talk will focus on the latest research on recurrence of PFIC disease as well as special considerations for patients who have PFIC 1.

This presentation was recorded at the 2024 PFIC Family & Scientific Conference hosted in partnership with Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. Find out more about PFIC Network Conferences!