Highly sensitized patients listed for heart after liver transplantation with or without domino

Abstract

For patients with end-stage heart disease and borderline hemodynamics, high human leukocyte antigen allosensitization presents a barrier to heart transplantation in a timely manner. Conventional desensitization protocols are inadequate in this context due to time constraints and for the most highly reactive immunologically. We previously reported performing heart after liver transplant with domino liver transplant on a single patient without liver disease. We describe this patient's course to date as well as 4 subsequent patients listed for this novel therapy. This experience demonstrates that the liver effectively confers immunoprotection to the heart for patients with high-titer, preformed antibodies. This strategy may provide some measure of equity for demographic groups previously disadvantaged for heart transplantation due to allosensitization.

Keywords: allosensitization; dual-organ transplant; heart transplant; liver transplant; rejection.