Surgical advances in liver transplantation. Living related and split donors.

Overview

Surgical innovations to expand an exceedingly small cadaveric liver pool have paved the way for the more complex procedure of adult-to-adult living donation. Although reduced-size liver transplant (RSLT) has provided children and small adults with much needed small size grafts, discarding a part of the liver can no longer be justified in the current era of severe organ shortage. Split liver transplantation may eliminate the need for RSLT and may replace adult-to-adult pediatric donation except in urgent situations. Adult-to-adult living donation is a formidable undertaking that tremendously impacts adult recipients. Adult-to-adult living donation should be approached cautiously to ensure the safety of living donors. Expansion of adult living donation can only be achieved when ethical issues of donation are resolved and long-term donor safety is established.