Early detection of biliary complications and graft rejection in a non-RH Identitical liver transplant recipient from a non-heart-beating donor: a case report.

Because of a shortage of organs, non-heart-beating donors have been proposed to be a possible source of grafts for orthotopic liver transplantation. Herein, we have presented a blood group A+ patient with primary biliary cirrhosis, who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation from a non-heart-beating blood group A- donor. On day 5 after transplantation the patient displayed a low hemoglobin levels as well as an increased total bilirubin with progressive encephalopathy, hypotension, and oligoanuria on day 11. The patient responded to steroid treatment. We assume the main cause of organ dysfunction was a passenger lymphocyte syndrome (ABO-Rh incompatibility). Biliary complications were detected at a 6-month follow-up visit by increased hepatic enzymes. We thus concluded that it is useful to take Rh group into account.