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Liver Transplantation: An Overview

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Mrl{at}medicine.wisc.edu

The first human liver transplant was performed by Thomas Starzl in Denver in 1963. In the United States, the 5-year survival rate after liver transplantation is 75%, but many patients with liver disease die without ever having had transplantation because of a shortage of organs. Mortality rates are significantly higher in centers that perform 20 transplants or fewer annually. Liver transplantation is appropriate for almost all liver diseases. The decision to transplant is based on 1) assessment of the severity of liver failure; 2) the patient's prognosis on medical treatment; 3) quality of life; and 4) the potential of transplantation to restore patient health. The number of transplants is limited by the availability of donor organs. In 2000 in the United States, there were 17,000 patients on the waitng list; 4579 cadaveric and 371 living related transplants were performed. There were 1347 deaths on the waiting list.

Key Words: liver transplantation • split liver grafts • PERV • marginal donors • extended use organs

References

• 1. The U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Transplant Data 1988-1996. (See: www.unos.org)
• 2. Markmann J, Doyle HR, Morelli R, McMichael J, Doria C, Aldrighetti L, et al. Hepatic retransplantation—an analysis of risk factors associated with outcome. Transplantation 1996;61:1499-1505.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• 3. Edwards EB, Roberts JP, McBride MA, Schulak JA, Hunsicker LG. The effect of the volume of procedures at transplantation centers on mortality after liver transplantation. N Engl J Med 1999;341:2049-2053.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• 4. Trotter JF, Wachs M, Everson GT, Kam I. Medical progress: adult to adult transplantation of the right hepatic lobe from a living donor. N Engl J Med 2002;346:1074-1082.[Free Full Text]

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This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lucey, M. R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?