Objective: To evaluate the results of the national paediatric liver transplantation programme in the University Medical Centre (UMC) Groningen in the Netherlands during the past two decades.
Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Method: We analysed data from paediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation at UMC Groningen in the period 1995-2016. We compared outcomes from children who had undergone a liver transplantation in the period 1995-2005 (cohort A; n = 126) and in the period 2006-2016 (cohort B; n = 169). We performed a subanalysis in cohort B between liver transplantations with deceased donor livers (n = 132) and living donor liver transplantations (LDLT; n = 37).
Results: In cohort A, almost all livers came from deceased donors (99%), whereas in cohort B, 37 LDLTs (22%) were performed. The median age of recipients was significantly higher in cohort A (4.4 vs. 2.5 years; p = 0.015). Postoperative complications were comparable for both cohorts. Re-transplantations within a year after transplantation were more often performed in cohort A than in cohort B (25% vs. 12%; p = 0.004). Following LDLT, there was 2 times (5.4%) an indication for re-transplantation. In cohort B the 5-year survival rate was better than in cohort A (83 vs. 71%; p = 0.014). In cohort B, 5-year survival was higher after LDLT than after transplantation with a deceased donor liver (95 vs. 81%; p = 0.025).
Conclusion: Outcomes after paediatric liver transplantation in the Netherlands have further improved during the past two decades. With an actuarial 5-year survival of 83% in the most recent cohort, and as high as 95% following LDLT, we can say that the UMC Groningen has a successful national paediatric liver transplant programme.