Liver transplantation in the United States, 1999-2008: Special feature

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

4-1-2010

Journal

American Journal of Transplantation

Volume

10

Issue

4 PART 2

DOI

10.1111/j.1600-6143.2010.03037.x

Keywords

Deceased donor liver transplant; Deceased donors; Donation after cardiac death; Hepatitis C; Liver; Liver transplant; Living donor liver transplant; Living donors; Organ donation; Organ procurement; Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

Abstract

Changes in organ allocation policy in 2002 reduced the number of adult patients on the liver transplant waiting list, changed the characteristics of transplant recipients and increased the number of patients receiving simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation (SLK). The number of liver transplants peaked in 2006 and declined marginally in 2007 and 2008. During this period, there was an increase in donor age, the Donor Risk Index, the number of candidates receiving MELD exception scores and the number of recipients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast, there was a decrease in retransplantation rates, and the number of patients receiving grafts from either a living donor or from donation after cardiac death. The proportion of patients with severe obesity, diabetes and renal insufficiency increased during this period. Despite increases in donor and recipient risk factors, there was a trend towards better 1-year graft and patient survival between 1998 and 2007. Of major concern, however, were considerable regional variations in waiting time and posttransplant survival. The current status of liver transplantation in the United States between 1999 and 2008 was analyzed using SRTR data. In addition to a general summary, we have included a more detailed analysis of liver transplantation for hepatitis C, retransplantation and SLK transplantation. © 2010 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

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