Epidemiological study of survival after liver transplant from a living donor

The safety and success of solid organ transplants from living donors are critical issues in the overall decisional process; we are reporting here mortality outcome data collected from a single center. A cohort of 154 subjects who received a liver transplant from a living donor between 2001 and 2006 was retrospectively assembled at the University of Pittsburgh Transplant Center. The average follow up after transplant was 22.9 +/- 18.5 months. During this time, 25 subjects died, contributing to an overall survival rate of 84%, similar to that reported by other studies on liver transplant from living donors. A multivariate analysis of the factors affecting survival did not identify any significant predictor of death. The study supports the safety of living liver transplants; larger collaborative studies that include detailed information on both recipients and donors, as well as the study of biological predictors of outcome are needed in order to continue monitoring the success of this approach.