Ricerc@Sapienza

OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the use of elderly donors in liver transplantation (LT) and identify risk factors associated with a worse outcome.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA:
Use of livers from very old donors could expand the donor pool but is not universally implemented.

METHODS:
This is a retrospective, single-center medical record review. From January 2001 to December 2014, 1354 LTs were performed. After exclusion of donors

RESULTS:
The median (interquartile range [IQR]) follow-up was 5.0 (2.0-8.4) years. Comparing the 2 identified groups, no differences were observed regarding early retransplants (1.8 vs. 2.9; P = 0.3), HCV-related death (7.6 vs. 8.7%; P = 0.6), vascular (5.8 vs. 5.0%; P = 0.7), and biliary complications (16.5 vs. 18.6%; P = 0.4). On multivariate analysis, independent risk factors for graft loss were: HCV-positive recipient (HR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.6-2.7; P

CONCLUSIONS:
Use of elderly donors is not associated per se with an increased risk of vascular and biliary complications. In the presence of cold ischemia time and diabetes mellitus, appropriate donor-to-recipient matching is warranted.