Discontinuation of living donor liver transplantation due to donor's intraoperative latex-induced anaphylactic shock

We report on a 33-year-old female liver donor candidate who developed intraoperative latex-induced anaphylactic shock during surgery for living donor transplantation. She was the mother of the organ recipient, who was a 9-year-old boy with biliary atresia. We planned extended lateral segmentectomy for her. Although we dissected the ligament around the left lobe, the systolic blood pressure suddenly dropped and her body became flushed and warm. We administered transfusion and an ephedrine injection to recover the blood pressure. Because she recovered after the treatment, we restarted the procedure. However, she went into shock again within a few minutes. We decided to discontinue the operation. Postoperative blood tests revealed an increase in IgE-RAST and basophil activation, suggesting that the anaphylactic shock was induced by latex. Because latex allergy has become a public health problem, this allergy should be kept in mind as a potential donor operation risk.