Please answer as I am really concerned. My Father has decompensated cirrhosis but not due to Hep C. He got infected by Hep C last year when he had a blood transfusion.

Since he is in india the blood was not tested for Hep C. The Doctor has put him on pegasys and copegus treatment. Is this treatment correct as I have read online that this treatment should not be done in case of decompensated cirrhosis.

Also my Father's viral load is 100000. Will that help. What do you think are his chances of achieving sustained response. Should he go for a transplant immediately. Please reply

Thanks,

You are right to be concerned. Since your father has decompensated cirrhosis, my first recommendation would be to have him seen at a transplant center for evaluation.

You are also correct in pointing out that interferon is not recommended in the treatment of decompensated cirrhosis. You may want to have further conversation with his physician to be absolutely certain he has decompensated cirrhosis per se.

As far as chances of responding...his viral load of 100,000 may sound high, but in hepatitis C terminology, that is actually considered a low viral load. This would be a favorable factor in terms of treatment response. The other more important factor would be to know his genotype. However, if he has decompensated liver disease, the most important thing to do is to get him evaluated by a liver specialist at a transplant center. Best wishes to your father, Dr. McGovern