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Smaller liver transplant candidates wait up to 55 days longer than other recipients

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By Kate Burba
Liver transplant candidates with a small stature experienced longer waitlist times and had lower rates of transplant, with the smallest 25% of candidates most affected, according to study results in JAMA Surgery.

“As a liver transplant surgeon, I had noticed that small candidates on the waitlist seem to wait longer to get a liver transplant, even if they are at the top of the list,” Catherine E. Kling, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of transplant surgery and program director for the Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship at the University of Washington, told Healio. 
Read more in Healio.

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First triple-organ transplant in Arizona history gives a new chance at life

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By Colton Krolak

PHOENIX — A Valley hospital recently made Arizona history, performing the first ever triple-organ transplant in the state.

Since Doyle Duke first picked up a bat and ball at 8-years old, all he wanted to do was play baseball. As an undersized pitcher, the doubters and the dream to play in the big leagues drove him to persevere, even being named “Pitcher of the Year” twice in high school. Read the full story from KTAR News 92.3FM.

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Smaller Liver Transplant Candidates Wait Longer, Less Likely to Receive Organ

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— Disparity mostly affects women, but allocating more livers from smaller donors may help

By Sophie Putka
Liver transplant waitlist candidates who are smaller in size are significantly less likely than larger candidates to receive a liver transplant, contributing to a sex disparity in organ transplants, according to a retrospective study.

After candidates were categorized into six groups according to body surface area (BSA) from smallest (group 1) to largest (group 6), it was found that with each increase in group number, waitlist time decreased (234 days for group 1 vs 179 days for group 6, P<0.001), reported Catherine E. Kling, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues.
Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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New liver transplant rules yield winners, losers as wasted organs reach record high

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The number of lifesaving liver transplants has plummeted in some Southern and Midwestern states that struggle with higher death rates from liver disease

By Malena Carollo and Ben Tanen

New rules requiring donated livers to be offered for transplant hundreds of miles away have benefited patients in New York, California and more than a dozen other states at the expense of patients in mostly poorer states with higher death rates from liver disease, a data analysis by The Washington Post and the Markup has found.

The shift was implemented in 2020 to prioritize the sickest patients on waitlists no matter where they live. Read the full story in The Washington Post.

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After a liver transplant changed his life, UTSW postdoc is inspired to help others

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Dr. Ahmad Anouti advocates for organ donations as he trains to become a transplant hepatologist

DALLAS – Feb. 22, 2023 – As a child in Beirut, Ahmad Anouti, M.D., endured dozens of medical procedures, hundreds of medications, and numerous setbacks before a liver transplant at age 16 saved his life.

Today, Dr. Anouti is a postdoctoral research fellow at UT Southwestern Medical Center specializing in hepatology, which is the study of the liver. He’s also an advocate for organ transplantation and strives to raise awareness of UT Southwestern and the work being done by its Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases. Read more from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

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Gaining momentum for liver care: Arun Sanyal reflects on the VCU liver institute’s first year

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One year has passed since the establishment of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health at VCU. Sanyal discusses the institute’s biggest strides in its first year and next steps on the path to advancing liver health.

By Olivia Trani

In December 2021, Virginia Commonwealth University shared its plan to create an institute for liver disease and metabolic health, building on the university’s legacy of championing liver health through translational research, education and clinical care. Just two months following the announcement, in February 2022, the institute received a historic $104 million gift, the largest publicly shared donation for liver research in U.S. history, from R. Todd Stravitz, M.D., and his family’s Barbara Brunckhorst Foundation. Read the full story from VCU News.

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Post-Transplant NASH Patients Fare Worse With Older Donor Livers

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By Lucy Hicks

Liver transplant recipients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who received grafts from older donors are at higher risk for post-transplant death, especially due to infection, according to a new study.

All-cause mortality was twice as high and death from an infectious cause was more than three times as high for patients with NASH who received liver grafts from octogenarian donors than for those who received a liver from someone younger than 50.
Read more in Medscape.

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As Liver Transplant Patients Live Longer, Kidney Disease Has Become a Risk

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A review of 23 studies found that evidence of kidney disease before a liver transplant is the strongest predictor of kidney disease afterward.

Since the first liver transplant was performed at the University of Colorado 60 years ago, the procedure has evolved into life-saving surgery for countless patients with end-stage liver disease around the world. In the U.S., there are just over 9,200 liver transplants performed in 2021. Read more in Managed Healthcare Executive.

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Cleveland Clinic performs its first HIV-positive to HIV-positive kidney transplant case

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A review of 23 studies found that evidence of kidney disease prior to a liver transplant is the strongest predictor kidney disease afterward.

Since the first liver transplant was performed at the University of Colorado 60 years ago, the procedure has evolved into life-saving surgery for countless patients with end-stage liver disease around the world. In the U.S., there are just over 9,200 liver transplants performed in 2021. Read more in Urology Times.

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The Philly Half Marathon blocked an organ donation driver from delivering a liver. So a surgeon ran through the race to get it

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Adam Bodzin ran more than half a mile to get the liver, dodging racers in the Philadelphia Half-Marathon.

With the clock ticking on his precious cargo of a human liver for transplant surgery, a van driver made good time on his way from New York to Philadelphia on a Saturday morning in November.

Until he ran into thousands who were racing against a different clock: runners competing in the Dietz & Watson Philadelphia Half Marathon.
Read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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