The model for end-stage liver disease comes of age.

The care of patients who have chronic liver disease has evolved considerably since the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) was first described 6 years ago. This article traces the progress in liver allocation and clinical liver disease research that includes the MELD score and highlights the management of areas in which MELD and the principles underlying MELD enhance the clinician's ability to understand better the patient who has chronic liver disease.