Paediatric liver transplantation in Australia and New Zealand: 1985-2018

Abstract

Liver transplantation has become the standard of care for children with end-stage liver disease. In Australia and New Zealand, there are four paediatric liver transplant units, in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. Over the past 30 years, there have been significant changes to indications for transplant, as well as medical and surgical advances. In this paper, using retrospective data from the Australia and New Zealand Liver Transplant Registry, we review 977 children (less than 16 years of age) who underwent liver transplant from 1985 to 2018. The most common indication was biliary atresia (54%), although there has been an increase in other indications, including inborn errors of metabolism, fulminant hepatic failure and malignant liver tumours. Over the past 3 decades, areas of change and innovation include: the use of 'split grafts' to enable an adult and a child to receive the same donor liver, live donation, improvements in immunosuppressive regimens and infectious prophylaxis protocols and innovative surgical techniques allowing transplantation in smaller infants. The outcomes for children who undergo liver transplant in ANZ are excellent, with current 10-year patient survival rates of 95%, comparable to other larger centres around the world.

Keywords: Australia and New Zealand; liver transplantation; paediatric.