Liver transplantation

Abstract

Partial liver, split liver, and living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) have been developed in response to the scarcity of pediatric donor organs from cadavers in Western countries, and adultto-adult LDLTs using right lobar graft have become increasingly popular in recent years. In Japan, more than 2,000 LDLTs have been performed in both pediatric and adult patients using various types of liver graft such as left and right lobar grafts, while only about 20 cadaveric liver transplantations have been carried out in the past 6 years. In LDLT, several donor deaths have been reported in western countries, but in Japan no donor death had been documented until January 2003, when one donor died of liver failure after right lobectomy. Donor safety needs to be further discussed based on accurate information on the donor's outcome in this innovative treatment.