Notable Publication: Future of U.S. Living-Donor Liver Transplant

The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute recently published research in Liver Transplantation that explored the future of U.S. living donor liver transplant.

Faculty from the Division included Kiran Bambha, MD; Scott Biggins, MD; and Swaytha Ganesh, MD, along with Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute’s Christopher Hughes, MD, and Abhi Humar, MD. Dr. Bambha served as corresponding author of the study.

This study examined living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) and its expansion in the United States over recent years. Specifically, the research emphasizes benefits of LDLT and how it helps expand the donor pool, shortens wait times for surgery, and reduces waitlist mortality. The research team discusses a few main goals in continuing expansion of LDLT in the United States, including¹:

• Continuing conversations about the benefits of LDLT.
• Fostering discussions around the safe expansion of donor and recipient candidate eligibility criteria.
• Broadening indications for LDLT including applications in transplant oncology.
• Developing national initiatives around liver paired exchange.
• Maintaining vigilance to living donor and recipient candidate risk/benefit equipoise.

It is believed that expansion opportunities for LDLT can be found in the transplant oncology realm, specifically patients with advanced HCC beyond Milan, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and nonresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases.

Ultimately, the team describes the goal of increase transplant access to more patients with end-stage liver disease and expanding into selected oncology patients who may successfully benefit from this surgical approach.

View the full study here.

Learn more about living-donor liver transplant at UPMC.

Reference

1. Bambha K, Biggins SW, Hughes C, Humar A, Ganesh S, Sturdevant M. Future of U.S. living donor liver transplant: Donor and recipient criteria, transplant indications, transplant oncology, liver paired exchange, and non-directed donor graft allocation. Liver Transpl. 2024 Aug 23. doi: 10.1097/LVT.0000000000000462. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39172018.