Study affirms safety of split liver transplantations

A new US study has revealed that split liver transplantation carries no increased risk of failure in either recipient.

The Boston Children's Hospital research examined data compiled over a 15-year period to assess the graft survival rates of 62,190 first-time adult deceased-donor liver transplant recipients, 889 of whom received partial grafts from a split liver transplant.

It was revealed that split graft patients' risk of graft failure was no higher than those who received a complete organ, with the regenerative qualities of livers allowing a single specimen to be divided into unequal portions and given to adult and child recipients.

The researchers said this means limited stocks of donated livers can be stretched further, allowing more lives to be saved.

Dr Ryan Cauley, first author on the paper, explained: "Because risks once associated with this technique are now negligible, if a centre has a patient waiting for a liver and it has access to a split graft, there's no reason not to accept it."

In 2011-12, a total of 726 liver transplants were carried out in the UK, but NHS data shows that the number of people who need a transplant is much higher than the number of organs donated.