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Updated: Oct 21, 2025
Reduced Complications after Arterial Reconnection in a Rat Model of Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
Published on: November 7, 2020
Safe pregnancy after liver transplantation: Evidence from a multicenter Italian collaborative study
Salvatore Stefano Sciarrone1, Alberto Ferrarese1, Debora Bizzaro1
1Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, Padua 35128, Italy.
Background:
Women who have undergone liver transplantation (LT) enjoy better health, and possibility of childbearing. However, maternal and graft risks, optimal immunosuppression, and fetal outcome is still to clarify.
Aim:
Aim of the study was to assess outcomes of pregnancy after LT at national level.
Methods:
In 2019, under the auspices of the Permanent Transplant Committee of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, a multicenter survey including 14 Italian LT-centers was conducted aiming at evaluating the outcomes of recipients and newborns, and graft injury/function parameters during pregnancy in LT-recipients.
Results:
Sixty-two pregnancies occurred in 60 LT-recipients between 1990 and 2018. Median age at the time of pregnancy was 31-years and median time from transplantation to conception was 8-years. During pregnancy, 4 recipients experienced maternal complications with hospital admission. Live-birth-rate was 100%. Prematurity occurred in 25/62 newborns, and 8/62 newborns had low-birth-weight. Cyclosporine was used in 16 and Tacrolimus in 37 pregnancies, with no different maternal or newborn outcomes. Low-birth-weight was correlated to high values of AST, ALT and GGT.
Conclusion:
Pregnancy after LT has good outcome; however, maternal complications and prematurity may occur. Compliance with the immunosuppression is fundamental to ensure the stability of graft function and prevent graft-deterioration.
