The age of liver donors has been increasing in the past several years because of a donor shortage. In the United States, 33% of donors are age 50 years or older, as are more than 50% in some European countries. The impact of donor age on liver transplantation (LT) has been analyzed in several studies with contradictory conclusions. Nevertheless, recent analyses of the largest databases demonstrate that having an older donor is a risk factor for graft failure. Donor age is included as a risk factor in the more relevant graft survival scores, such as the Donor Risk Index, donor age and Model for End-stage Liver Disease, Survival Outcomes Following Liver Transplantation, and the Balance of Risk. The use of old donors is related to an increased rate of biliary complications and hepatitis C virus-related graft failure. Although liver function does not seem to be significantly affected by age, the incidence of several liver diseases increases with age, and the capacity of the liver to manage or overcome liver diseases or external injuries decreases. In this paper, the importance of age in LT outcomes, the role of donor age as a risk factor, and the influence of aging on liver regeneration are reviewed.

The use of grafts from donors≥60 yr decreased graft survival after liver transplantation and was related to a higher frequency of non-anastomotic biliary strictures.

The Spanish Quality Assurance Program applied to the process of donation after brain death entails an internal stage consisting of a continuous clinical chart review of deaths in critical care units (CCUs) performed by transplant coordinators and periodical external audits to selected centers. This paper describes the methodology and provides the most relevant results of this program, with information analyzed from 206,345 CCU deaths. According to the internal audit, 2.3% of hospital deaths and 12.4% of CCU deaths in Spain yield potential donors (clinical criteria consistent with brain death). Out of the potential donors, 54.6% become actual donors, 26% are lost due to medical unsuitability, 13.3% due to refusals to donation, 3.1% due to maintenance problems and 3% due to other reasons. Although the national pool of potential donors after brain death has progressively decreased from 65.2 per million population (pmp) in 2001 to 49 pmp in 2010, the number of actual donors after brain death has remained at about 30 pmp. External audits reveal that the number of actual donors could be 21.6% higher if all potential donors were identified and preventable losses avoided. We encourage other countries to develop similar comprehensive approaches to deceased donation performance.

While retaining the same degree of safety and effectiveness as UW for LT, CS may yield postliver graft reperfusion benefits, as shown in this study by a significant reduction in the incidence of PRS and greater metabolic control.

In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected patients, the accelerated severity of liver disease, associated comorbidities, and mortality on the waiting list could change the possibility and results of liver transplantation (LT). Intention-to-treat survival analysis (ITTA) can accurately estimate the applicability and efficacy of LT. The primary objective of this study was to compare the survival of patients with HCV with and without HIV infection. We analyzed a cohort of 199 patients with HCV infection enrolled for LT between 1998 and 2015; 17 were also infected with HIV. The patients with HCV/HIV coinfection had higher mortality on the waiting list than those with HCV monoinfection (35.3% versus 4.6%; P < 0.001). ITTA at 1, 3, and 4 years was 75%, 64%, and 57% for HCV monoinfection and 52%, 47%, and 39% for HCV/HIV coinfection, respectively (Wilcoxon test P < 0.05). The ITTA at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months was 96%, 91%, 87%, and 75% for HCV monoinfection and 76%, 70%, 64%, and 52% for HCV/HIV coinfection, respectively (log-rank P < 0.05; Wilcoxon test P < 0.01). A Cox regression analysis was carried out including all variables with predictive value in the univariate analysis, showing that only donor age > 70 years (hazard ratio [HR] 5 3.12; P < 0.05), United Network for Organ Sharing status 1 (HR 5 10.1; P < 0.01), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (HR 5 1.13; P < 0.001), and HIV coinfection (HR 5 2.65; P < 0.05) had independent negative predictive value for survival. In conclusion, our study indicates that HIV coinfection is a factor in mortality prior to transplantation and associated with higher mortality on the waiting list.