Expanding Donor Pool for Live Donor Liver Transplantation: Utilization of Donors with Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis After Optimization

Introduction: Potential live liver donors with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are rejected upfront for donation in live donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Herein, we share our experience of the feasibility of live liver donation in donors with NASH after successful donor optimization.

Materials And Methods: Prospectively collected data of 410 consecutive donor hepatectomies from June 2011 to January 2018 were analyzed.

Results: During the study period, NASH was diagnosed histopathologically in 17 donors. Four donors were rejected in view of grade 2 fibrosis on histology. Out of remaining 13 donors, six became eligible for donation following lifestyle changes, dietary modifications, and target weight reduction of ≥5%. Reversal of NASH was confirmed on repeat liver biopsy in all the 6 donors. Five out of 6 underwent right lobe (without MHV) donor hepatectomies, while one had left lobe donation. These donors had significantly higher peak bilirubin levels in the immediate post-operative period as compared to other non-NASH donors (4.00 ± 0.32 vs. 2.57 ± 1.77 mg/dL, p = 0.043). In addition, post-hepatectomy normalization of hyperbilirubinemia, if any, was slower in donors with NASH (7 ± 1.3 vs. 5 ± 1.7 days, p = 0.016). However, none of these donors had post-hepatectomy liver failure. All these donors were discharged after an average hospital stay of 8 ± 1.7 days. Their respective recipients had uneventful post-operative courses without complications. Both the recipients and donors are having satisfactory liver functions after 46.7 ± 10.2 months of follow-up.

Conclusion: Scrupulous selection of live liver donors with NASH can open a door for expanding the organ pool in LDLT after a successful donor optimization program.