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Summary: With the growing incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM), an increasing number of organ donors with DM can be expected. We sought to investigate the association between donor DM with early post‐transplant outcomes. From a national cohort of adult liver transplant recipients (1996–2016), all recipients transplanted with a liver from a DM donor (n = 69) were matched 1:2 with recipients of livers from non‐DM donors (n = 138). The primary end‐point included early post‐transplant outcome, such as the incidence of primary nonfunction (PNF), hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), and 90‐day graft survival. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the impact of donor DM on graft failure. PNF was observed in 5.8% of grafts from DM donors versus 2.9% of non‐DM donor grafts (P = 0.31). Recipients of grafts derived from DM donors had a higher incidence of HAT (8.7% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.03) and decreased 90‐day graft survival (88.4% [70.9–91.1] vs. 96.4% [89.6–97.8], P = 0.03) compared to recipients of grafts from non‐DM donors. The adjusted hazard ratio for donor DM on graft survival was 2.21 (1.08–4.53, P = 0.03). In conclusion, donor DM is associated with diminished outcome early after liver transplantation. The increased incidence of HAT after transplantation of livers from DM donors requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Studies from the USA and Nordic countries indicate primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients have low mortality on the liver transplantation (LTx) waiting list. However, this may vary among geographical areas. Therefore, we compared waiting list mortality and post‐transplant survival between laboratory model for end‐stage liver disease (LM) and MELD exception (ME)‐prioritized PSC and non‐PSC candidates in a nationwide study in the Netherlands. A retrospective analysis of patients waitlisted from 2006 to 2013 was conducted. A total of 852 candidates (146 PSC) were waitlisted of whom 609 (71.5%) underwent LTx and 159 (18.7%) died before transplantation. None of the ME PSC patients died, and they had a higher probability of LTx than LM PSC [HR obtained by considering ME as a time‐dependent covariate (HRME 9.86; 95% CI 6.14–15.85)] and ME non‐PSC patients (HRME 4.60; 95% CI 3.78–5.61). After liver transplantation, PSC patients alive at 3 years of follow‐up had a higher probability of relisting than non‐PSC patients (HR 7.94; 95% CI 1.98–31.85) but a significantly lower mortality (HR 0.51; 95% CI 0.27–0.95). In conclusion, current LTx prioritization advantages PSC patients on the LTx waiting list. Receiving ME points is strongly associated with timely LTx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to perform a detailed prospective observational multicenter cost-effectiveness study by comparing liver transplantations with Donation after Brain Death ( DBD) and Donation after Cardiac Death ( DCD) grafts. All liver transplantations in the three Dutch liver transplant centers between 2004 and 2009 were included with 1-year follow-up. Primary outcome parameter was cost per life year after transplantation. Secondary outcome parameters were 1-year patient and graft survival, complications, and patient-level costs. From 382 recipients that underwent 423 liver transplantations, 293 were primarily transplanted with DBD and 89 with DCD organs. Baseline characteristics were not different between both groups. The Donor Risk Index was significantly different as were cold and warm ischemic time. Ward stay was significantly longer in DCD transplantations. Patient and graft survival were not significantly different. Patients receiving DCD organs had more and more severe complications. The cost per life year for DBD was € 88 913 compared to € 112 376 for DCD. This difference was statistically significant. DCD livers have more and more severe complications, more reinterventions and consequently higher costs than DBD livers. However, patient and graft survival was not different in this study. Reimbursement should be differentiated to better accommodate DCD transplantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]