title: Organ sharing in the management of acute liver failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver transplantation (OLT) for acute liver failure (ALF) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in the early posttransplant course. An efficient organ-sharing organization may grant favorable results.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on patients wait listed for ALF at a single center. Patients were listed for OLT when matching King's College Criteria. Based on patients' clinical status, ABO-incompatible grafts were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From January 2001 to December 2010, 37 patients were wait listed for ALF. Two patients were de-listed (5.4%) for improvement of their clinical conditions; two patients (5.4%) died on the list and 33 (89.2%) underwent OLT. Among these latter, 21 (63.6%) were Italian and 12 (36.4%) were foreign citizens, with four referred from their home country on the basis of international agreements on ALF management. Donors were procured in our region in 10 cases (30.3%), nationally in 22 (66.6%), and outside Italy in 1 (3.1%). Mean time from wait listing to OLT was 1 day (range 0-6), and seven patients received an ABO-incompatible graft. Graft and patient survivals at 1 month, 1 year, and 3 years were 78.8%, 72.7%, 66.5%, and 81.8%, 75.8%, and 72.7%, respectively. Five patients underwent retransplantation: two on postoperative day (POD) 2 for primary nonfunction of the liver graft, two on POD 8 and 95 for hepatic artery thrombosis, and one at 18 months for nonanastomotic biliary stenosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prompt referral to a OLT center and efficient organ-sharing system play a fundamental role in optimizing the outcome of the patient with ALF. Development of international organ exchange programs might further improve the results for this category of patients. In very selected cases, ABO-incompatible grafts may be a valuable resource.
authors.affiliation: Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, University of Pisa School of Medicine, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pezzati
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ghinolfi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Simone
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tincani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiorenza
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Filipponi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate