title: Use of marginal donors for liver transplantation: a single-center experience within the Eurotransplant patient-driven allocation system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to the organ shortage, marginal donors are increasingly used in liver transplantation (OLT). These grafts may be safely used in less critical recipients but, the real influence of extended donor criteria (EDC) remains uncertain when graft-recipient matching is not applied. Our study analyzed the impact of EDC on initial graft function within the Eurotransplant patient-driven allocation system.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed 70 OLT performed between 2004 and 2006. The impact of the following EDC were analyzed: age > 60; intensive care unit (ICU) stay > 4 days; peak serum Na(+) > 160 mEq/L; body mass index (BMI) > 30; cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and high doses of vasopressors. Early graft function, as defined according to peak transaminase level and spontaneous prothrombin time within the first 5 posttransplant days, was compared between the donors with none or one criterion (group A = 39) and those with >1 criterion (group B = 31).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequent EDC were high vasopressor use, ICU stay > 4 days and BMI > 30, were present in respectively 44%, 27%, and 16% of the donors. No EDC were present in 13 donors, one in 26, three in eight, and four in three. Demographics and origin and severity of the liver disease were similar in both groups. We failed to observe significant differences in initial graft function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of EDC did not significantly affect early graft function in a population where donor and recipient were not matched. While this observation must be confirmed in a multicenter analysis, it tends to support the use of marginal liver grafts, even in patient-driven allocation systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Liver Transplantation Unit, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808 route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. valerio.lucidi@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lucidi
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lemyé
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baire
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buggenhout
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mboti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mikhailski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Closset
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelin
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Degré
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Donckier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution