Liver Transplantation Utilizing Old Donor Organs: A German Single-Center Experience

Abstract Introduction Due to the current profound lack of suitable donor organs, transplant centers are increasingly forced to accept so-called marginal organs. One criterion for marginal donors is the donor age >65 years. We have presented herein the impact of higher donor age on graft and patient survival. Patients and Methods Since 2004, 230 liver transplantations have been performed at our center, including 54 donor organs (23.5%) from individuals >65 years of age. We performed a retrospective analysis of recipient and graft survivals. Results The overall 1-year mortality was 22.2% (12/54) among recipients of organs from older donors versus 19.5% among recipients whose donors were 75 years, 5.9% (1/17). There was no significant correlation between mortality rate and the number of additional criteria of a marginal donor organ. Discussion The current lack of donor organs forces transplant centers to accept organs from older individuals; increasingly older patients are being recruited for the donor pool. Our results showed that older organs may be transplanted with acceptable outcomes. This observation was consistent with data from the current literature. It should be emphasized, however, that caution is advised when considering the acceptance of older organs for patients with hepatitis C–related cirrhosis.