Living Donor Liver Transplantation in an Elderly Recipient with Preserved Performance Status : A Case Report

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in an elderly recipient is controversial.

We report a case of LDLT in a 74-year-old female who had decompensated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). She was the oldest recipient who received LDLT in Japan ever. She was rejected for LDLT at a nearby hospital because of her age.We decided to perform LDLT because her general condition was good (the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 ). The surgery was uncomplicated and the postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged 35 days after the surgery. Currently she is living at home, and she has maintained a good quality of life.

We believe that a recipient in good general condition is capable of undergoing LDLT despite advanced age.