What is a normal liver MELD score?
Ava Richardson
Updated on February 25, 2026
What is a normal liver MELD score?
Using the MELD score, patients are assigned a score from 6 to 40, which equates to an estimated 3-month survival rate from 90% to 7%, respectively. Patients with MELD scores 17 or greater are considered candidates for liver transplantation. Patients with scores <15 are deferred.
What is MELD score Mayo Clinic?
What is the MELD score? MELD is an acronym for model for end-stage liver disease, and MELD score is the score provided to patients based on how urgently they need a liver transplant in the next three months. It’s used by hospitals and the government to prioritize allocation of deceased donor livers for transplant.
What is considered a bad MELD score?
3-Month Mortality Based on MELD Scores
| MELD Score | Mortality Probability |
|---|---|
| 30-39 | 52.6% mortality |
| 20-29 | 19.6% mortality |
| 10-19 | 6.0% mortality |
| 9 or less | 1.9% mortality |
What MELD score is considered end-stage liver disease?
Status 2a (MELD score >29) includes patients with end-stage liver disease, severely ill, and potentially hospitalized. Status 2b (MELD score 24–29) includes patients with end-stage liver disease, severely ill, but not requiring hospitalization.
What is a good MELD score?
Patients with MELD scores of 18 and higher derive significant transplant survival benefit, and the magnitude of benefit increases with the score.
What is a normal meld?
The MELD score ranges from six to 40 and is based on results from several lab tests. The higher the number, the more likely you are to receive a liver from a deceased donor when an organ becomes available.
What is considered a good MELD score?
How long can you live with a MELD score of 20?
MELD score chart
| Score | Three-month mortality risk |
|---|---|
| 10–19 | 6.0 percent |
| 20–29 | 19.6 percent |
| 30–39 | 52.6 percent |
| Greater than 40 | 71.3 percent |
What is a perfect MELD score?
If you are a candidate for a liver transplant, a MELD score helps determine how urgently you need a transplant. The MELD score ranges from six to 40 and is based on results from several lab tests. The higher the number, the more likely you are to receive a liver from a deceased donor when an organ becomes available.
Can your MELD score go down?
A patient’s score may go up or down over time depending on the status of his or her liver disease. Most candidates will have their MELD score assessed a number of times while they are on the waiting list. This will help ensure that donated livers go to the patients in greatest need at that moment.
Can a MELD score improve?
Our findings showed that MELD score improves in the majority of patients with high baseline scores after 6 months of ETV and/or TDF treatment. Patients with lower on-treatment MELD score have a lower risk of all-cause mortality and hepatic events when compared to patients with higher on-treatment MELD score.
Can MELD scores improve?
How to calculate the MELD score?
The new MELD scores are calculated first by determining the traditional MELD score as an initial score (MELD(i)); if the initial MELD(i) scores is 12 or greater, the score is adjusted by incorporating the serum sodium value.
How do I calculate my MELD score?
The MELD score is calculated using the following formula: MELD Score = 0.957 x Log e (creatinine mg/dL) + 0.378 x Log e (bilirubin mg/dL) + 1.120 x Log e (INR) + 0.6431 Multiply the score by 10 and round to the nearest whole number. Laboratory values less than 1.0 are set to 1.0 for the purposes of the MELD score calculation.
What MELD score means transplant?
A MELD score is a number that ranges from 6 to 40, based on lab tests. It ranks your degree of sickness, which shows how much you need a liver transplant. The higher the number, the more urgent your case is.
What do different meld scores mean?
The MELD score, is the acronym for the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease. It is considered an accurate numerical scale for measuring the risk of patient mortality in the following three months, in patients 12 years and older. The MELD score helps doctors decide where to place patients on the liver transplant waiting list.
