Acute normovolemic hemodilution reduces blood loss and streamlines blood management in living donor hepatectomy: A preliminary propensity score-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND

Living donor hepatectomy carries a risk of bleeding, and allogeneic transfusion may cause adverse effects. Autologous blood preparation is therefore considered a safer strategy. While preoperative autologous donation (PAD) is widely used, acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) may overcome its limitations and offer a practical alternative. However, evidence supporting ANH in donor surgery remains limited. This study compared the clinical utility of ANH and PAD in living donor hepatectomy.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 60 consecutive cases of living donor right hepatectomy performed between 2017 and 2025. Among them, 58 donors who received either PAD or ANH were compared using 1:2 propensity score matching. Perioperative laboratory values, surgical outcomes, any allogeneic transfusion, and postoperative complications were evaluated.

RESULTS

No unexpected intraoperative adverse events or allogeneic transfusions occurred. All ANH donors received autologous reinfusion, compared with only 6.5% of PAD donors. After matching, 27 donors (18 PAD, 9 ANH) were analyzed. Whole blood viscosity was higher in the ANH group. Weight-adjusted intraoperative bleeding was lower (2.6 vs. 4.6 mL/kg, p = .024; q = 0.106) and operative time was shorter (321 vs. 390 min, p = .007; q = 0.077) in the ANH group. Postoperative complication rates were comparable. Area under the curve analysis indicated better preservation of total protein (p = .038) and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (p = .010) across the perioperative period in the ANH group.

CONCLUSIONS

ANH maintained transfusion avoidance and donor safety comparable to PAD while improving operative efficiency, supporting ANH as a safe, effective alternative in living donor right hepatectomy.