One liver for two: an experimental study in primates

Abstract

The need for liver grafts is critical in countries where brain death is not accepted as a legal criterion for organ retrieval. This experimental study was conducted with nonhuman primates in order to evaluate the feasibility of liver transplantation using a living donor. An original technique was employed to remove the left part of the liver from the donor: transection of the parenchyma was done while the blood flow was kept to the left part of the liver. In the recipients, the graft was placed heterotopically. No blood transfusions were administered to donors or recipients. In spite of a few failures, due to consequences of intraoperative bleeding, several donor operations using this original technique were successful, in the immediate postoperative period as well as several months later. Among the recipients, the large number of early failures suggests that the heterotopic position is probably not the appropriate one and that orthotopic transplantation should be preferred.