Hepatitis C and liver transplantation

Abstract

Liver transplantation is a life-saving therapy to correct liver failure, portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma arising from hepatitis C infection. But despite the successful use of living donors and improvements in immunosuppression and antiviral therapy, organ demand continues to outstrip supply and recurrent hepatitis C with accelerated progression to cirrhosis of the graft is a frequent cause of graft loss and the need for retransplantation. Appropriate selection of candidates and timing of transplantation, coupled with better pre- and post-transplant antiviral therapy, are needed to improve outcomes.