Split liver transplantation, a process by which a single donor liver
can be given to two recipients, has been gaining increasing attention as more
transplant centers have begun to perform the procedure. The larger portion of
the liver is usually given to an adult and a smaller portion to a child. Once
transplanted, the livers are expected to grow to normal size.
Stories that received attention in the lay press in October included the
following:
- Emory Transplant Center in Atlanta completed its first split liver
transplant in September. Half of a donated cadaver liver was given to a
42-year-old woman and the other half to a one-year-old child, both of whom were
reported to be doing well a month following the transplantation.
- The Spokesman Review of Spokane, Washington, reported that the
University of Washington has performed about five split liver transplants since
1993. To reduce potential damage, the surgeons split the liver before removing
it from the donor's body.
- The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post reported that since the
University of California at Los Angeles launched its split liver transplant
program in July 1996, 22 donor livers have been given to 43 recipients, 94% of
whom survived. When UCLA researchers first tried the procedure in 1992, they
split the liver after removing it, but they later achieved better results
splitting it in situ. In September, a team of UCLA researchers reported their
successful results with in situ transplantation in Transplantation
(1997;64:871-877). "In situ split liver transplantation can be
accomplished without complications and provides results that are superior to
those obtained previously with ex vivo methods," they wrote.
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