[Liver transplantation: results with living donors]

Abstract

Liver transplantation with harvesting of the graft from living related donors is a new technique. It was introduced in 1989 as a response to the shortage of donor organs for small children in the west and to the complete absence of such organs in Japan. Results have been as good as for transplantation from cadaveric donors. Our experience confirms these results and shows that this technique, so far restricted to small children in most cases, can also be extended to adults in selected cases.