Launch of the International Living Donor Liver Transplantation Outcomes Registry

Living donor liver transplantation has become the main source of grafts for liver transplantation in many countries worldwide since its introduction in the early 1990s. 1 Raia S Nery JR Mies S Liver transplantation from live donors. Lancet. 1989; 2: 497 Abstract PubMed Scopus (591) Google Scholar Its main advantage is to increase the donor pool, reducing reliance on organs from deceased donors for transplantation, especially in low-income countries. 2 Reichman TW Katchman H Tanaka T et al. Living donor versus deceased donor liver transplantation: a surgeon-matched comparison of recipient morbidity and outcomes. Transpl Int. 2013; 26: 780-787 Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar However, reports on donor morbidity and even mortality have reduced the uptake of the procedure in high-income countries. 3 Chen C-L Kabiling CS Concejero AM Why does living donor liver transplantation flourish in Asia?. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013; 10: 746-751 Crossref PubMed Scopus (143) Google Scholar Although outcome data are available from high-income countries, there is a lack of transparency in global reporting of outcomes, resulting in a substantial amount of missing data. 4 Cheah YL Simpson MA Pomposelli JJ Pomfret EA Incidence of death and potentially life-threatening near-miss events in living donor hepatic lobectomy: a world-wide survey. Liver Transpl. 2013; 19: 499-506 Crossref PubMed Scopus (197) Google Scholar There is an urgent need to create a standard global dataset in the form of a prospective registry. Such a registry would allow meaningful comparisons and standardisation of the procedure on a global scale. This announcement comes after a call to action issued by the International Liver Transplantation Society consensus recommendations on enhanced recovery for liver transplant. 5 Pollok JM Tinguely P Berenguer M et al. Enhanced recovery for liver transplantation: recommendations from the 2022 International Liver Transplantation Society consensus conference. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023; 8: 81-94 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar