Aim: This study evaluated regional differences in registration on the waiting list and access to liver transplantation in France.
Methods: The annual incidence of registration on the waiting list was calculated with the number of transplantation candidates registered in each region between 1996 and 1998 and was used as an indicator for access to the waiting list. The median waiting time before receiving a graft was estimated for patients registered between 1992 and 1998 by the Kaplan Meier method using transplantation as the event. This was used as an indicator for access to transplantation. Shortage of liver grafts was based on the ratio between the number of registered patients and the number of transplantations.
Results: The national incidence rate on the liver transplantation waiting list was 11.5 candidates per million inhabitants (pmi). There were no significant statistical differences among regions but it was high for the Rhône-Alpes region (18.6 pmi) and low for the French West Indies (3.6 pmi). The median waiting time before a graft is 2.2 months, and varied from 0.5 month to 3.8 months in French regions (p<0.001). Lack of a graft was strongly correlated with the median waiting time but not with the harvested liver rate.
Conclusion: Although there is no statistical significant difference in access to the waiting list for liver transplantations, access to grafts differs among the regions in France.