title: Toward more than 400 liver transplantations a year at a single center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For the first time at Asan Medical Center (AMC) we performed more than 400 liver transplantations (LTs) per year in 2011, despite same number of living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Our OLT program was started in 1992, but not activated well due to the scarcity of deceased donor organs. Since adult LDLTs using a left lobe and then a right lobe were successfully performed in 1997, we have developed several innovative techniques and approaches for adult LDLT, for example, modified right-lobe graft reconstructing middle hepatic branches in 1998, dual graft LDLT using 2 left lobes in 2000; new criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); as well as ABO-incompatible LDLT, the first in the world. As a result, the number of LDLTs has increased rapidly but reached a plateau recently. Nationwide efforts to promote deceased donation increased the number of deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We have performed 317 LDLTs per year in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The number of LTs reached 403 in 2011. This large number was possible due to a remarkable increase of DDLTs from 50 in 2010 to 86 in 2011. Seventy-nine patients (68.1%) among 116 patients (28.8%) required an urgent LT receiving a DDLT. LT for HCC or ABO-mismatch comprised 50.3% (n = 150) or 8.7% (n = 35), respectively. In-hospital mortality rate in 2011 was 4.7%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increased LTs number at AMC was aided by the nationwide campaign.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Namkoong
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019520:Living Donors; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014019:Tissue Donors