Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a severe complication of end-stage liver disease that affects the kidneys. People with HRS require a liver transplant to prevent further degeneration of both vital organs. Traditionally, those in need of transplants are placed on a waiting list for available organs from deceased donors.
Given the organ shortage and the high mortality rate of people on the waiting list, using live donors for transplantation—in which a portion of the liver is donated—is an attractive option. To date, there have been few studies evaluating the efficacy of this approach in people with HRS.
In a study led by TGHRI Affiliate Scientist Dr. Markus Selzner, outcomes were compared between HRS patients who received live donor liver transplants and those who received organ transplants from deceased donors. Dr. Selzner's team measured readouts of transplant success for up to five years after the surgery. They found that there were virtually no differences in liver function, kidney function or patient survival between the two groups. In fact, certain factors (eg, length of hospital stay) were improved in patients receiving tissue from live donors.
These results demonstrate that live donor liver transplants are an effective option for HRS patients. This is of particular value to people with moderate to severe HRS—this group moves higher up on the transplant waiting list, yet currently there is no guarantee that an organ will be made available before their disease worsens to the point when a transplant would no longer be beneficial.
This work was supported by the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation.
Living vs. deceased donor liver transplantation provides comparable recovery of renal function in patients with hepatorenal syndrome: a matched case-control study. Goldaracena N, Marquez M, Selzner N, Spetzler VN, Cattral MS, Greig PD, Lilly L, McGilvray ID, Levy GA, Ghanekar A, Renner EL, Grant DR, Selzner M. American Journal of Transplantation. 2014 Oct 2. [Pubmed abstract]
Comments