Donor and recipient outcomes in right lobe adult living donor liver transplantation

Severe donor organ shortage has provided the impetus for adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT). Despite rapid implementation and expansion of the procedure, outcome analysis of ALDLT is still incomplete. This study analyzed both donor and recipient outcomes after ALDLT at a single center. ALDLT performed at UCLA between August 1999 and November 2001 were reviewed retrospectively. Twenty recipients (14 men and 6 women) with a mean age of 48.8 +/- 9.7 (29 to 66) years underwent right lobe ALDLT. By computed tomograpy (CT), graft/recipient weight ratio (GRWR) was 1.3 +/- 0.3 (1 to 2.2). Overall 1-year patient and graft survival rates were 95% and 85%, respectively. One recipient died of heart failure with normal liver function 5 months after transplantation. Three grafts (14%) were lost and all three patients underwent successful cadaveric retransplantation. Complications were classified according to the Clavien grading system with all but 3 recipients encountering at least one complication. Nine (45%) had grade I (minor), 10 (50%) had grade 2 (potentially life threatening without residual disease/disability), 3 (14%) had grade 4A (retransplantation) and one grade 4B (death). Right lobectomy for living donation was performed in 20 patients (12 men, 8 women). Residual left lobe volumes were 36 +/- 5.3 (23.9 to 47.9)% of total donor liver volume. No donor required intensive care unit admission and median hospital stay was 7.5 (6 to 14) days. One donor was aborted after intraoperative biopsy showed > 50% macrovesicular steatosis. No donor mortality or long-term complications were encountered. Five grade I minor complications, by Clavien Classification, occurred in 4 of 20 (20%) donors. ALDLT using right lobe grafts is an effective procedure to expand a severely depleted donor, but is associated with a high complication rate despite good survival outcomes. Continuous standardized reporting of ALDLT outcomes is required to allow successful and safe implementation of the procedure.