Improvements in surgical techniques, postoperative care, and donor and recipient selection have all contributed to the increased success of OLT and to higher survival rates in patients with advanced liver disease. This progress in liver transplantation has occurred in only 45 years, since the preliminary work of Dr. Starzl, and provides a basis for future advances.
Keywords: Graft survival; liver transplantation/methods/mortality; risk factors; transplantation immunology.