Elderly Ages in Liver Transplantation: Are Older Donors Really Higher Risk?

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is currently a supply and demand mismatch in liver transplantation, with more patients needing transplants than grafts available. The use of older donors is one potential way of expanding access to viable grafts. No national study has yet reported on outcomes of liver transplants with donors ≥70 y.

Methods

The US Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients registry was queried for deceased donor LT (1988-2021). Balance-of-risk (BAR) score was calculated for each patient. The primary outcome was graft survival. Cubic spline curves were used to evaluate the full spectrum of donor ages.

Results

A total of 148 960 livers met inclusion criteria: 5414 (3.6%) from donors ≥70 y and 4291 (2.9%) recipients ≥70 y. Within the overall cohort, graft survival decre

SUBMITTER: Satish S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11984785 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature