Living related donor liver transplantation in Iranian children: a 12- year experience.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to describe our results and investigate the survival of below-18-year-old patients undergoing LRDLT and the factors affecting this.


BACKGROUND
Living Related Donor Liver Transplantation (LRDLT) has become a good option to provide suitable grafts for children with liver diseases. Using this method, children who have no chance for life can live a much longer life.


METHODS
The present study is a historical cohort study carried on 191 patients below-18-year-sold who had undergone LRDLT for the first time in the Namazi hospital liver transplantation center. Survival rate of the patients was assessed using Kaplan-Meier method. The effect of factors related to the recipients, donors, and the transplantation process on the patients' survival was also investigated.


RESULTS
1, 3, 5 and 11-year survival of patients was 71%, 66%, 65%, and 65%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, age, weight at transplantation, PELD/MELD score, existence of post-transplant complications were found to be effective factors on the patients' survival. In the multivariate analysis, weight at transplantation, PELD/MELD score, and existence of post-transplant complications were the prognostic variables.


CONCLUSIONS
LRDLT is now well established with satisfactory results in our center. Although the survival rate of the patients is lower than the survival rate reported in other studies, but the survival of the patients who had survived 1 month after the transplantation was comparable to other studies.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Najmeh
N
Haseli
Department of Epidemiology, School of Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Jafar
J
Hassanzade
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Organ Transplantation Center, Namazi Teaching Hospital, Shiraz University of 4Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Seyed Mohsen
SM
Dehghani
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Organ Transplantation Center, Namazi Teaching Hospital, Shiraz University of 4Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Ali
A
Bahador
Department of Organ Transplantation Center, Namazi Teaching Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Seyed
S
Ali Malek-Hosseini
Liver Transplantation; Living Donor; Pediatrics; Survival