Donors' Outcome After Living Donor Liver Transplantation in a University Teaching Hospital: A Case Series

Abstract

Background Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for end-stage liver disease. Living donor liver transplantation is more commonly performed in Asian countries as compared to the Western due to the lack of organ donation. Donor safety is the key to sustaining a liver transplant program. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the overall safety of living donors and health-related quality of life using the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) questionnaire at our institution. Methodology We analyzed the medical records of patients who underwent donor hepatectomy at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, from May 31, 2019, to April 18, 2023. Demography, postoperative complications, and quality of life were analyzed. Results The mean age of the 10 live liver donors was 27.9 years. Half of them were male. One of them had a post-hepatectomy bile leak and others did not have any post-operative complications. They have good physical and mental health status after liver donation as indicated by the average physical component summary and mental component summary scores of more than 50. Conclusion The case series highlights the safety and favorable outcomes of liver donors at a low-volume liver transplant center, where stringent preoperative assessments and careful surgical techniques were employed.

Keywords: donor hepatectomy; end-stage liver disease; future liver remnant; living donor liver transplantation; quality of life.