Chela H, Yousef MH, Albarrak AA, Romana BS, Hudhud DN, Tahan V. Elderly donor graft for liver transplantation: Never too late.
World J Transplant 2017;
7:324-328. [PMID:
29312861 PMCID:
PMC5743869 DOI:
10.5500/wjt.v7.i6.324]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The definitive treatment for end stage liver disease remains a liver transplant and hence livers are needed for these patients along with cases of acute fulminant liver failure. Hence livers are a scarce and highly valuable commodity in the current time. By extending the pool of donors to include the elderly livers, it allows for increased availability of donors and reduces the mortality that is associated with the waiting list itself. There is an increasing prevalence of end stage liver disease due to conditions like chronic hepatitis B and C, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, alcoholic liver disease. Many studies show non-inferior outcomes when elderly livers are used as a vigorous selection process is implemented. The process takes into account the characteristics of the donor, graft and recipient allowing for appropriate donor-recipient coupling. To meet the increasing demands of livers, elderly donors should be utilized for liver transplantation. The aim of this review article is to describe the aging process of the liver and the outcomes associated with use of elderly livers for transplantation.
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