Age is not a contraindication for orthotopic liver transplantation: a single institution experience with recipients older than 75 years

Introduction Transplant community has arbitrary age limit for liver transplantation based on the increased comorbidities in aging population. There has been an increased demand to consider older patients to have access to liver transplantation as the US population continues to live longer with better health. Methods This is a single institution, retrospective review of patients, who were age 75 or over underwent liver transplantation. Results There were 13 patients, who were 75 years or older at the time of orthotopic liver transplantation. There were no intraoperative or perioperative deaths. Seven of 13 patients are still alive (53.8%) with a mean survival of 65 months. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that a with proper evaluation and careful consideration of risk factors, individuals older than 75 years of age can undergo this life-saving procedure with acceptable long-term survival.