Evaluation of potential liver donors: logistical and economic aspects

Introduction. The increasing shortage of cadaveric organs makes living-related liver transplantation a more and more important option. Safety for the donor has the highest priority, and therefore detailed and thorough evaluation is needed. Materials and methods. All potential donors who had been evaluated at our center from January 2001 to March 2002 (n=100) were included in a retrospective study to analyse the qualitative, logistical, and economic aspects of the evaluation. Results. Seventy-three percent of the potential donors were found to be unsuitable for living donation during the evaluation process. The main reasons were: uncompatible blood group, availability of cadaveric transplant by Eurotransplant, steatosis of more than 10% of hepatocytes in liver biopsy, insufficient liver volume, and psychosocial reasons. The expenditure for all scheduled investigations was 4,469 euro for a complete evaluation. Conclusion. While on the one hand, high standards of the evaluation process must be guaranteed, insufficient reimbursement on the other should not lead centers to reduce either quantity or quality of necessary examinations entered in the evaluation protocol.