Liver transplantation utilizing old donor organs: a German single-center experience.
BACKGROUND
Due to the current profound lack of suitable donor organs, transplant centers are increasingly forced to accept so-called marginal organs. One criterion for marginal donors is the donor age >65 years. We have presented herein the impact of higher donor age on graft and patient survival.


METHODS
Since 2004, 230 liver transplantations have been performed at our center, including 54 donor organs (23.5%) from individuals >65 years of age. We performed a retrospective analysis of recipient and graft survivals.


RESULTS
The overall 1-year mortality was 22.2% (12/54) among recipients of organs from older donors versus 19.5% among recipients whose donors were <65 years. When donor organs were grouped according to age, the 1-year mortality in patients receiving organs from donors aged 65-69 years was 30% (6/20); 70-74 years, 29.4% (5/17); and donors >75 years, 5.9% (1/17). There was no significant correlation between mortality rate and the number of additional criteria of a marginal donor organ.


CONCLUSIONS
The current lack of donor organs forces transplant centers to accept organs from older individuals; increasingly older patients are being recruited for the donor pool. Our results showed that older organs may be transplanted with acceptable outcomes. This observation was consistent with data from the current literature. It should be emphasized, however, that caution is advised when considering the acceptance of older organs for patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.
Rauchfuss
F
F
Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany. Falk.Rauchfuss@med.uni-jena.de
Voigt
R
R
Dittmar
Y
Y
Heise
M
M
Settmacher
U
U
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D012449:Safety; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood; D015996:Survival Rate; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D012964:Sodium