Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 4, 2026
Porcine Liver Transplantation Without Veno-Venous Bypass As an Extended Criteria Donor Model
Published on: August 17, 2022
Factors Associated With Growth After Deceased and Live Donor Pediatric Liver Transplantation
Oya M Andacoglu1, Amber Himmler2, Xue Geng3
1Georgetown University MedStar Transplant Institute, Washington, DC, United States.
Insights
Deceased donor full-size grafts and Black recipients show improved growth post-pediatric liver transplant. Biliary complications impact height, while longer hospital stays correlate with lower growth percentiles.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric transplantation
- Growth outcomes
- Graft type impact
Background:
- Limited data exists on growth predictors following pediatric liver transplantation.
- Understanding these predictors is crucial for optimizing post-transplant care and outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of graft type, ethnicity, and biliary complications on growth after pediatric liver transplantation.
- To compare growth trajectories (weight, height, BMI) across different donor types and identify influencing factors.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 98 pediatric liver transplant recipients.
- Comparison of pre-transplant and 6, 12, 24-month weight, height, and BMI percentiles.
- Analysis of graft types (living donor, deceased donor full-size, deceased donor split), ethnicity, and biliary complications.
Main Results:
- Deceased donor full-size graft recipients and Black patients demonstrated the most significant growth improvements.
- Biliary complications were associated with catch-up in weight and BMI but persistent deficits in height percentiles.
- Longer length of stay showed a trend towards lower height and BMI percentiles, though not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Deceased donor full-size grafts and Black ethnicity appear to be associated with better growth outcomes post-liver transplant.
- Biliary complications specifically impact height growth, while prolonged hospitalization may hinder overall growth.
- Further research with larger cohorts and longer follow-up is needed to confirm these findings.
Background:
There are limited data on predictors of growth after pediatric liver transplantation.
Methods:
We reviewed the impact of graft type, ethnicity, and biliary complications (BC) on growth after pediatric liver transplantation (LT). We compared preoperative and 6-, 12-, and 24-month weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) percentiles between living donor (LD), deceased donor full-size (DD-full), and deceased donor split (DD-split) graft recipients. We also compared length of stay (LOS) between groups.
Results:
We had 98 patients (DD-split: 32; DD-full: 43, LD: 23). The Median Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease (PELD) scores, exception points, albumin, bilirubin, failure to thrive, and presence of ascites were similar among groups. The DD-full group had the lowest preoperative percentiles in all categories and exceeded these at 24 months. The DD-split group was at preoperative percentiles at 24 months. The LD group had parallel weight curves compared to the DD-full group and exceeded only the preoperative weight percentile at 24 months. Black patients had the lowest percentiles in all categories (P < .01). The BC group caught up weight and BMI percentile at 24 months but had persistent decrease in height percentiles. Patients without BC exceeded preoperative height percentiles. The longer LOS group had lower height and BMI percentiles at 24 months; however, there was no statistical difference.
Conclusion:
DD-full and black patients seem to benefit the most from LT in terms of growth. BC seems to affect height percentiles. Patients with longer LOS had lower height and BMI percentiles (P>.05). Longer follow up and larger cohorts are necessary to improve the power of these findings.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Kidney Transplant I: Introduction
01:26Kidney Transplant II: Surgical Procedure
01:24Tissue Transplantation
The Biology of Tissue Transplantation
The biology of tissue transplantation hinges on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules. These molecules...
01:24Liver Regeneration
Cells of Liver
The liver comprises four major types of cells— hepatocytes, stellate, Kupffer, and sinusoidal endothelial cells. The hepatocytes are...
01:16Kidney Transplant III: Nursing Management
01:22Bone Marrow Sampling and Transplants
The transplant begins with high doses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which aim to destroy...