Impact of donor age in donation after circulatory death liver transplantation: Is the cutoff “60” still of relevance?

Abstract

Advanced donor age has been identified as a risk factor when combined with donor warm ischemia time (WIT), eg, in donation after circulatory death (DCD). In several countries, DCD livers older than 60 years are not considered suitable due to concerns related to poor graft function and development of ischemic cholangiopathy. In this study, we evaluate outcomes after DCD liver transplantation using grafts from donors older than 60 years. We analyzed outcomes after DCD liver transplantation (n = 315), comparing donors > 60 years (n = 93) and donors ≤ 60 years (n = 222) from our center between 2005 and 2015. End points included graft function and complications and patient and graft survival. Multivariate risk analysis was performed to define further key factors that predicted inferior outcome. Donor age at the cutoff 60 years failed to stratify patient and graft survival. The rate of vascular, biliary, and overall complications was comparably low in both cohorts, and the median comprehensive complication index was 42.7 points, independent from the donor age. Second, donor body mass index (BMI) above a threshold of 25 kg/m2 significantly impacted on graft and patient survival at any donor age, whereas donor WIT and cold ischemia times were not predictive for graft loss. In conclusion, older DCD donors can be successfully used for liver transplantation with good longterm outcomes when further risk factors are limited. Additional risk is transmitted by an increased donor BMI regardless of donor age. Liver Transplantation 24 352–362 2018 AASLD.