This study investigates retrospectively the incidence, risk factors and mortality of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) in adult orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients. Among 1206 OLT recipients at a single institution, 37 developed a PTLD. The incidence of PTLD was highest during the first 18 months and relatively constant thereafter with cumulative incidence of 1.1% at 18 months and 4.7% at 15 years. The risk of PTLD was approximately 10% to 15% of the risk of death without PTLD. During the first 4 years following OLT, PTLD were predominantly related to EBV, while afterward most PTLD were EBV negative. Significant risk factors for PTLD in OLT recipients were transplantation for acute fulminant hepatitis during the first 18 months following OLT (HR = 2.6, p = 0.007), and rejection therapy with high-dose steroids (HR = 4.5, p = 0.049) and OKT3 (HR = 3.9, p = 0.016) during the previous year. Therapy with high-dose steroids or OKT3 (HR = 3.6, p = 0.0071) were also significant risk factors for PTLD-associated mortality. OLT recipients remain at risk for PTLD years after transplantation. The strong association of PTLD with rejection therapy and the worse post-PTLD prognosis among recipients of rejection therapy indicate the need to balance the risk of immunosuppression against the risk of PTLD following rejection treatment.

In cadaveric organ transplantation there is a risk of transfer of infectious agents from donor to recipient. The consequences can be fatal for immunosuppressed recipients. This is illustrated by a case history in which an infection with the fungus Monosporium apiospermum was transferred from a donor to two cadaveric kidney recipients, of whom one died and the other survived with the loss of the graft. These events led to a review of the literature to determine methods of demonstrating possible contamination of donor organs. Analysis of the case history of potential donors, a history taken from relatives or the family doctor, autopsy and laboratory examinations are considered useful. Victims of drowning, patients with severe burns and patients who have been ventilated for a long time are high risk donors.

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Abstract. The Eurocollins (EC) and University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solutions were compared in a rat liver transplant model. After hepatectomy, 48 rat livers were flushed with either EC or UW preservation solution and were randomly assigned to 1, 12, 24, and 30 h of preservation at 4C, resulting in eight groups each containing six livers. Following preservation, orthotopic liver transplantation with reconstruction of the hepatic artery was performed. The efficacy of the preservation solution was assessed at 48 h post‐transplantation by survival histological features and aspartate transaminase assay (AST) values. None of the rats survived 30 h of liver preservation with EC whereas five out of six rats did with UW preservation. After 24 h of liver preservation, three of the six rats in the EC group survived, compared to all six rats in the UW group. Histological evidence of severe ischemia was found in both groups in all but one survivor (UW, 24 h). After 12 h of EC preservation, one rat died within 48 h and severe ischemic changes were found in the remaining five rats. Among the rats with 12 h of UW preservation, only two out of six showed ischemic changes, and all six rats survived beyond 48 h. Without preservation (1 h), ischemic damage was found in two out of six rats in each group and all rats survived. The median AST values were higher in the EC groups than in the UW groups; the difference became significant after 12‐h preservation (EC 900 IU/1 versus UW 465 IU/1) and 24‐h preservation (EC 5220 IU/1 versus UW 631 IU/1). However, the median AST value in the five surviving rats whose livers had been preserved for 30 h in UW climbed to 1880 (950–2240) IU/1. We conclude that UW solution provides better long‐term preservation than EC solution. However, even with UW solution, the observed mortality, the severity of ischemic changes, and the pronounced increase in the median AST value cast doubt upon the safety of liver preservation beyond 24 h.