Status and Current Problems in the Allocation System for Pediatric Liver Transplantation in Korea.
10.4285/jkstn.2012.26.3.196
- Author:
Youngrok CHOI
1
;
Kwang Woong LEE
;
Geun HONG
;
Hyeyoung KIM
;
Min Su PARK
;
Sukwon SUH
;
Tae YOO
;
Hae Won LEE
;
Nam Joon YI
;
Kyung Suk SUH
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kwleegs@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Split;
Allocation;
Pediatric liver transplantation
- MeSH:
Adult;
Child;
Humans;
Korea;
Liver;
Liver Transplantation;
Living Donors;
Tissue Donors;
Transplants;
Waiting Lists
- From:The Journal of the Korean Society for Transplantation
2012;26(3):196-201
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the current status and identify any existing problems in the allocation system of liver transplantation (LT) for children in Korea. METHODS: The information for the period between January 2006 and March 2012 contained in the Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS) database, and the 2008 and 2010 annual reports from KONOS were analyzed. Detailed information about split LT (SLT) was analyzed using the SLT database which contains data collected since 2010. RESULTS: Of 4,462 cases of LT between January 2006 and December 2010, 243 were pediatric cases (5.4%). Of these pediatric cases, 195 (80.2%) were living donor LT. Of the liver grafts from deceased pediatric donors, 68% were donated to adults and 3.9% were shared with children. Of the 104 splittable donors from January 2010 to March 2012, a split was performed only in 4.6% of cases. The main reason for the low split rate was few pediatric candidate(s) in the waiting list due to strict Korean regulatory requirements for split candidate registration. CONCLUSIONS: Under the current liver transplant allocation system, Korean children have less chance to receive a liver graft from a deceased donor. With improvement of the allocation system and the rules governing SLT, children in need may have greater opportunity to receive a deceased donor graft without negatively affecting adult recipients.
