The OPTN's simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) allocation policy, implemented August 10, 2017, established medical eligibility criteria for adult SLK candidates and created Safety Net kidney allocation priority for liver-alone recipients with new/continued renal impairment. OPTN SLK and kidney after liver (KAL) data were analyzed (registrations as of December 31, 2019, transplants pre-policy [March 20, 2015-August 9, 2017] vs. post-policy [August 10, 2017-December 31, 2019]). Ninety-four percent of SLK registrations met eligibility criteria (99% CKD: 50% dialysis, 50% eGFR). SLK transplant volume decreased from a record 740 (2017) to 676 (2018, -9%), with a subsequent increase to 728 (2019, 1.6% below 2017 volume). For KAL listings within 1 year of liver transplant, waitlist mortality rates declined post-policy versus pre-policy (27 [95% CI = 20.6-34.7] vs. 16 [11.7-20.5]) while transplant rates increased fourfold (46 [32.2-60.0] vs. 197 [171.6-224.7]). There were 234 KAL transplants post-policy (94% Safety Net priority eligible), and no significant difference in 1-year patient/graft survival vs. kidney-alone (patient: 95.9% KAL, 97.0% kidney-alone [p = .39]; graft: 94.2% KAL, 94.6% kidney-alone [p = .81]). From pre- to post-policy, the proportion of all deceased donor kidney and liver transplants that were SLK decreased (kidney: 5.1% to 4.3%; liver: 9.7% to 8.7%). SLK policy implementation interrupted the longstanding rise in SLK transplants, while Safety Net priority directed kidneys to liver recipients in need with thus far minimal impact to posttransplant outcomes.
Keywords: Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN); ethics and public policy; health services and outcomes research; kidney (allograft) function/dysfunction; kidney transplantation/nephrology; liver allograft function/dysfunction; liver transplantation/hepatology; organ allocation; patient survival.
© 2021 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.