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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis
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Living liver donation improves patient and graft survival in the pediatric population

Martin I Montenovo1, Kiran Bambha2, Jorge Reyes1,2,3

  • 1Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Pediatric Transplantation
|November 20, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Living donor liver transplants (LDLT) in children improve patient and graft survival rates, reducing wait times and pre-transplant mortality. This highlights LDLT as a crucial option for pediatric liver transplantation.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Transplant Surgery
  • Pediatric Medicine

Background:

  • Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) increases organ availability for pediatric recipients.
  • LDLT is associated with decreased waiting times and reduced pre-transplant mortality in children.
  • This study investigates the hypothesis that LDLT improves graft and patient survival compared to deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare patient and graft survival rates between pediatric liver transplant recipients who received grafts from living donors versus deceased donors.
  • To identify predictors of patient and graft survival in pediatric liver transplantation.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort analysis of pediatric liver transplant recipients (<18 years) from the UNOS database (February 2002 - December 2016).
  • Inclusion of covariates predictive of survival in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models.
  • Comparison of outcomes between living donor (LD) and deceased donor (DD) liver transplant recipients, including partial and whole grafts.

Main Results:

  • A total of 6312 pediatric liver transplants were analyzed: 800 from LD and 5517 from DD (1784 partial, 3733 whole grafts).
  • Vascular and biliary complication rates were similar between LD and DD groups.
  • Kaplan-Meier analysis showed superior graft and patient survival rates in LD recipients compared to DDLT recipients (whole and partial grafts).
  • Multivariable analysis identified LD as an independent predictor of improved patient and graft survival.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric liver transplantation utilizing living donors is associated with enhanced patient and graft survival.
  • The option of living donor liver transplantation should be considered early in the evaluation process for all pediatric liver transplant candidates.
Abstract

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