[Dying with living donor transplantation]

A female patient with primary sclerosing cholangitis developed a cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumor) at the age of 42 years. It was successfully resected by hemihepatectomy and hepaticojejunostomy. In the next 15 years she had recurrent episodes of bacterial cholangitis and had to be hospitalized several times a year for intravenous antibiotics. At the same time the sclerosing cholangitis progressed and she developed liver cirrhosis. The patient, who was never willing to give up, underwent liver transplantation by receiving the left liver lobe of her daughter (living donor). Postoperatively she suffered from severe complications including a biliary leak, sepsis, intraabdominal abscesses and cachexia. Soon after she was dismissed by the transplantation center, she was admitted to our hospital in a very poor condition. She refused any further intensive care and died, with the well functioning donated left liver lobe of the daughter dying with her.