Graft Reconditioning before Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Background: The high demand for livers for transplantation has led to organs of limited quality being accepted to expand the donor pool. This is associated with inferior outcomes due to more pronounced preservation injury. Accordingly, recent research has aimed to develop preservation modalities for improved preservation as well as strategies for liver viability assessment and liver reconditioning.

Methods: The PubMed database was searched using the terms 'perfusion', 'liver', 'preservation', and 'reconditioning' in various combinations, and the according literature was reviewed.

Results: Several perfusion techniques have been developed in recent years with the potential for liver reconditioning. Preclinical and first emerging clinical data suggest feasibility, safety, and superiority over the current gold standard of cold storage.

Conclusion: This review outlines current advances in the field of liver preservation with an emphasis on liver reconditioning methods.

Keywords: Extended criteria donors; Liver preservation; Liver viability assessment; Reconditioning.