Transplantation of livers from old donors: Pushing the envelope beyond the seventh decade

Eviatar Nesher, Marius Braun, Sigal Eizner, Assaf Issachar, Michal Cohen, Amir Shlomai, Michael Gurevich, Ran Tur-Kaspa, Eytan Mor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The lack of organs for liver transplantation has prompted transplant professionals to study potential solutions, such as the use of livers from donors older than 70 years of age. This strategy is not widely accepted because potential risks of vascular and biliary complications and recurrence of hepatitis C. Objectives: To examine the efficacy and safety of liver grafts from older donors for transplantation. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data on 310 adults who underwent deceased donor liver transplantation between 2005 and 2015 was conducted. We compared graft and recipient survival, as well as major complications, of transplants performed with grafts from donors younger than 70 years (n=265, control group) and those older than 70 years (n=45, older-donor group), followed by multivariate analysis, to identify risk factors. Results: There was no significant difference between the control and older-donor group at 1, 5, and 10 years of recipient survival (79.5% vs. 73.3%, 68.3% vs. 73.3%, 59.2% vs. 66.7%, respectively) or graft survival (74.0% vs. 71.0%, 62.7% vs. 71.0%, 54.8% vs. 64.5%, respectively). The rate of biliary and vascular complications was similar in both groups. Significant risk factors for graft failure were hepatitis C (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.92, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.16–2.63), older donor age (HR = 1.02, 95%CI 1.007–1.031), and male gender of the recipient (HR = 1.65, 95%CI 1.06–2.55). Conclusion: Donor age affects liver graft survival. However, grafts from donors older than 70 years may be equally safe if cold ischemia is maintained for less than 8 hours.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)765-769
Number of pages5
JournalIsrael Medical Association Journal
Volume20
Issue number12
StatePublished - Dec 2018
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Israel Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Cold ischemia
  • Extended criteria donor
  • Graft survival
  • Liver transplantation
  • Patient survival

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