Liver transplantation: expanding the donor pool

LIVER REPLACEMENT therapy has come a long way since the first successful transplantation performed by Thomas Starzl in 1963,1 and at the dawn of the third millennium it appears to have acquired a definite role in the treatment of a wide host of hepatic diseases. The improved outcome of current orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) techniques, the introduction of novel immunosuppressive agents, and the extension of indications to liver transplantation have all contributed to the ever-growing number of patients enrolled on transplant waiting lists worldwide (Fig 1). The increasing chasm between organ demand and supply is dominating the scientific debate and urges the adoption of novel strategies to offer patients an acceptable chance of cure.