Liver transplantation: current and future.

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to summarize the allocation challenges facing the field of liver transplantation while providing examples of the expansion of indications for the procedure.

METHODS

UNOS allocation policy was reviewed as well as the recent literature describing expanded criteria for recipient candidate selection.

RESULTS

Liver allocation policy changes for deceased-donor organs remain gridlocked in legal and bureaucratic red tape. Meanwhile, the indications for liver transplantation are being expanded to include acute alcoholic hepatitis, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and colorectal metastasis, previously viewed as absolute contraindications, but under strict selection criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

Attempting to meet the demand for livers, transplant centers are increasingly turning to living donor liver transplantation, protocols such as HCV-positive to HCV-negative transplants, and machine perfusion of marginal organs.