Around the world, live donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an important source of organs for patients with liver disease. During its relatively short history of approximately 20 years, adult to adult LDLT has emerged and gained a legitimate place in the field of transplantation. Its growth and dissemination around the world have been impressive and the uniqueness of its growth in the respective region is striking. This issue of HSBN tells the story of LDLT around the world. It describes the current status and the controversies of LDLT.
The articles are written by the authors from various parts of the world, and we are indebted for their contributions. Their articles share the common themes of: technical innovations, the teamwork required to overcome obstacles, and emphasis on donor safety. They also shed light on the uniqueness of each region in terms of the respective region’s cultural, political and legal climate and how these variables have their impact on the development and growth of LDLT. The technical challenges of LDLT are addressed by description of the salient features of the donor and recipient operations stressing the importance of hepatic venous outflow and biliary reconstruction techniques. The innovative ways to increase LDLT such as the donor exchange program, ABO incompatible grafts and dual grafts are described. The controversies in LDLT such as transplantation for extended criteria HCC and anonymous liver donation are also discussed. (Extracted from the Preface of the focused issue)
Guest Editor: Giuliano Testa, MD, FACS, MBA. Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA. (Email: Giuliano.Testa@bswhealth.org)