DO DONOR AGE AND SEX INFLUENCE HEPATIC ALLOGRAFT OUTCOME?
Purpose: Recent studies suggest adverse hepatic allograft outcome with increasing donor age. Statistical outcome analysis of 407 UW preserved cadaveric hepatic allografts was performed to ascertain the effect of donor age > 50 years. Covariates analyzed included donor sex, recipient age, UNOS status and cold ischemia time. Design: All grafts analyzed were obtained from adult donors, and were transplanted as whole livers into 407 consecutive adult recipients for the first time. 111/407 grafts from donors > 50 years (range 50-78) were compared with 296/407 grafts from donors 18-49 years. Recipient age, UNOS status, and CIT were similar in both groups. Results: Hepatic allografts from older donors were associated with significantly lower graft survival, higher retransplantation rates, and increased incidence of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) (p=0.012, 0.022, and 0.0001 respectively). Older allografts that failed were associated with higher total bilirubin levels within the first 10 posto
