A PRELIMINARY EUROPEAN STUDY ON EXTENDED CRITERIA LIVER DONATION AND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT CONSENT

ELPAT (Ethical, Legal and Psychological Aspects of Organ Transplantation), coordinated the distribution to European liver transplant centres of an electronic questionnaire concerning the definition of extended criteria (ECD) liver donation and the implication for informed consent of transplant recipients. Completed questionnaires were received from 30 centres in 13 countries. Twenty-eight centres accepted ECD liver donors. The criteria for defining a liver donor as ECD were: steatosis, in 24 centres (85%); age up to 80 years, in 23 centres (82%); serum sodium higher than 165 mmol/l, in 17 centres (60%); ICU stay with ventilation longer than 7 days, in 16 centres (57%); SGOT higher than 90U/l, in 12 centres (42%); BMI more than 30, in 10 centres (35%); SGPT higher than 105U/l, in 10 centres (35%); serum bilirubin higher than 3mg/dl, in 10 centres (35%); and other criteria, in 13 centres (46%). Twenty-three centres informed the transplant candidate of the ECD status of the donor, 10 centres (43%) when the patient registered for transplantation, 3 centres (14%) when an ECD liver became available and 10 centres (43%) on both occasions above. Ten centres required the liver transplant candidate to sign a special consent form. Ten centres informed the potential recipient of the donor's serology. Only three centres informed the potential recipient of any high risk behaviour of the donor.