Background: In the United States, the discrepancy between organ availability and need has persisted despite changes in allocation, innovations in preservation, and policy initiatives. Living donor liver transplant (LDLT) remains an underutilized means of improving access to timely liver transplantation and decreasing waitlist mortality. Liver paired exchange (LPE) represents an opportunity to overcome LDLT pair incompatibility due to size, anatomy, or blood type.
Methods: LPE was adopted as a strategy to augment access to liver transplantation at our institution. Specific educational materials, consent forms, and selection processes were developed to facilitate LPE.
Results: From 2019 through October 2023, our center performed 11 LPEs, resulting in 23 LDLT pairs. The series included several types of LPE: those combining complementary incompatible pairs, the inclusion of compatible pairs to overcome incompatibility, and the use of altruistic non-directed donors to initiate chains. These exchanges facilitated transplantation for 23 recipients, including 1 pediatric patient.
Conclusions: LPE improved access to liver transplantation at our institution. The ethical application of LPE includes tailored patient education, assessment and disclosure of exchange balance, mitigation of risk and maximization of benefit for donors and recipients.
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