Impact of donor age and year of transplant on graft survival in liver transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis C

Studies suggest donor age and year of transplantation are associated with low graft survival in liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C. We sought to determine if advanced donor age and recent year of transplantation are associated with graft survival in hepatitis C recipients and to determine if the effect of donor age on graft survival is specific to hepatitis C. We analyzed the United Network for Organ Sharing liver transplant database from 1994 to 2002. Six thousand four hundred and four subjects transplanted for end-stage liver disease from chronic hepatitis C met our criteria. One-year graft survival in hepatitis C recipients with organs from donors <40 years old and greater than or equal to60 years old was 84% and 73%, p = 0.003, respectively. These rates in recipients with cholestatic liver disease and alcoholic liver disease were 85% and 82%, respectively, p = 0.11 and 82% and 78%, respectively, p = 0.14. Three-year graft survival in hepatitis C recipients transplanted from 1994 to 1995 and 1996 to 1999 was 67% and 69%, respectively, p = 0.10. Graft survival in hepatitis C recipients has not declined in recent years. Older donor age is associated with lower short-term graft survival in recipients with hepatitis C, but not in recipients with cholestatic or alcoholic liver disease.