Background: Cadaveric liver donors are scarce in Hong Kong, and the application of liver transplantation to high-urgency patients is limited. We evaluated the use of grafts from living donors in this setting.
Methods: From July 1994 to January 1998, 49 consecutive adult patients who were intensive care unit-bound because of acute or chronic liver failure were put on a high-urgency list for liver transplantation. Family members were not solicited for living donation, and the initiation and decision for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was based on the donor's voluntary intent. Assessment of the living donor, including blood tests, computed tomographic volumetry, and angiography, was performed only after informed consent was executed.
Results: In 25 of 49 (51%) patients, no family member volunteered as living donor; 23 died awaiting donor organs, and 2 received a cadaveric graft. Twenty-four (49%) patients had 36 family members who volunteered as living donors. Before evaluation of living donor was completed, two patients received a cadaveric liver transplant. LDLT was not performed in nine patients because of recipient contraindications (n=4), ABO blood group incompatibility (n=3), and withdrawal of donor (n=2). Eight of these nine patients died, and one received a cadaveric liver graft. The remaining 13 (27%) patients received grafts from living donors. Four of 5 (80%) patients who underwent cadaveric liver transplantation and 11 of 13 (85%) who underwent LDLT survived. Thus, emergency transplantation from living donors increased the applicability of liver transplantation from 10% to 37%, and the survival rate after emergency LDLT (85%) was superior to that of the remaining patients (11%).
Conclusions: When cadaveric organ donation is scarce, emergency liver transplantation from living donors can be applied to high-urgency adult patients.