American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons
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Multicenter Study
The survival benefit of deceased donor liver transplantation as a function of candidate disease severity and donor quality.
The survival benefit of liver transplantation depends on candidate disease severity, as measured by MELD score. However, donor liver quality may also affect survival benefit. Using US data from the SRTR on 28 165 adult liver transplant candidates wait-listed between 2001 and 2005, we estimated survival benefit according to cross-classifications of candidate MELD score and deceased donor risk index (DRI) using sequential stratification. ⋯ All recipients with MELD > or =20 had a significant survival benefit from transplantation, regardless of DRI. Transplantation of high-DRI organs is effective for high but not low-MELD candidates. Pairing of high-DRI livers with lower-MELD candidates fails to maximize survival benefit and may deny lifesaving organs to high-MELD candidates who are at high risk of death without transplantation.
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Multicenter Study
Donors after cardiac death: validation of identification criteria (DVIC) study for predictors of rapid death.
Donation after cardiac death (DCD) is uncommon in part because clinicians cannot prospectively identify patients who are likely to die within 60 min of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (LST). UNOS criteria exist but have not been validated. Consecutive patients electively withdrawn from LST at five university-affiliated hospitals were prospectively enrolled. ⋯ The data validate the UNOS criteria. Patients with no criteria might be excluded from consideration for DCD. Those with more than one criterion are reasonable candidates, while those with a single criterion should be considered if a 50% failure rate for DCD is acceptable.