[A uniform protocol for liver transplantation in adults in The Netherlands]

Recently a common protocol for liver transplantation in adult patients was established in the two officially registered liver transplantation centres in the Netherlands, Groningen University Hospital and Rotterdam University Hospital. Although the total number of liver transplantations is steadily increasing in the Netherlands, the number of 85 in 1996 is still far below the estimated required number of 150 per year (10 per million of the population per year). If the current trend continues, the number of performed liver transplantations will reach an optimal level in a few years' time, however. The present uniform protocol prevents patients being referred for liver transplantation too early or too late.