ABO-Incompatible Liver Transplantation: State of Art and Future Perspectives

Abstract

ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) liver transplantation (LT) has been limited due to the increased rate of complications, including severe cellular and antibody-mediated rejection, hepatic necrosis, hepatic artery thrombosis, and biliary complications. However, several strategies for reducing preformed anti-donor ABO antibodies and B cell desensitization have improved the outcomes of ABO-I LT. As a result, ABO-I LT has become a routine procedure and is a feasible option in countries with a scarce deceased-organ donation or in cases without an available compatible organ donor. In this review, we describe past and present desensitizing protocols as well as emergent therapies for depleting B cell and anti-ABO antibodies with the objective of identifying approaches that could lead to new, refined strategies for maximizing the results of ABO-I LT.

Keywords: ABO; desensitization; incompatible; isoagglutinin titer; liver; plasmapheresis; rituximab; transplantation.