Living-Donor Liver Transplantation: Donor Selection Criteria and Postoperative Outcomes. A Single-Center Experience With a 10-Year Follow-up

Background

Donor safety must be considered to be a priority in live-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The aim of this study was to evaluate these outcomes with special attention to surgical complications and their treatment.

Methods

From March 2001 to March 2012, 80 live donors underwent right hepatectomy (5-8 segments). The middle hepatic vein was always left in the donor. Our retrospective study analyzed surgical outcomes and complications according to the Clavien classification modified for live donors.

Results

With a median follow up of 63.2 ± 12.6 months, the mortality was 0%. Two donors experienced intraoperative complications, but all of them had complete recovery there after. Among the 22 complications in 17 donors (21.2%), 7 (8.7%) were major complications (Clavien grade 2b) but only 2 donors required surgical treatment.

Conclusions

LDLT is a safe and feasible modality to alleviate the cadaveric donor shortage. The efficacy of this procedure is similar to that with deceased donors.