The results of transplant livers from selected non-heart-beating cadaver donors.

The clinical experience following transplantation of livers obtained from non-heart-beating cadaver donors (NHBD) with the use of core cooling method is presented here. Six livers procured from such cadavers were transplanted into 6 recipients with hepatoma involving right and left lobes but without distant metastases. The first liver subjected to 75 minutes of warm ischemia had insufficient function after transplantation. The recipient died of graft failure 54 days later. The other 5 livers with 32 to 45 minutes of warm ischemia had a good or excellent immediate function. These 5 recipients died of tumor recurrence, acute rejection or septicemia 131 to 261 days after transplantation. The utilization of selected NHBD is suggested by our practice as a possible approach to help alleviate the acute organ shortage in the areas where heart-beating cadaver donors of brain death are not available.