Current status and recent advances in liver transplant using organs donated after cardiac death

Abstract

There are increasing numbers of patients on liver transplant waiting lists, and there is a continuing organ shortage crisis. Therefore, more centers and organ procurement organizations are developing protocols for donation after cardiac death. However, the effect of donation after cardiac death allografts on overall patient survival remains controversial, with some centers reporting equivalent patient posttransplant survival but many others indicating increased rates of complications, retransplant, use of resources, and death. Several potential risk factors that predict graft loss and recipient complications have been identified. To improve patient outcomes and reduce dropouts, experimental strategies that target both donors and recipients at various phases of the transplant process have focused on attenuating ischemia-reperfusion injury and have achieved encouraging results. In the present article, our goal is to provide an overview of the current status of, and recent advances in, liver transplant from donation after cardiac death, to better understand the risks and potential benefits of donation after cardiac death liver transplant.