BACKGROUND: The demand for liver transplantation has increasingly exceeded the supply of cadaver donor organs. Hepatic allografts from non-heart-beating donors have been cited as a means to expand the supply of donor livers. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of six patients who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation from non-heart-beating donors at Oswaldo Cruz University Hospital, Pernambuco University, Brazil, between October 2002 and September 2004. RESULTS: Primary graft non-function, vascular or biliary complications were not observed. Re-transplantation was not required. All patients were discharged from hospital in good clinical conditions. CONCLUSION: Although more experience is required, good initial results have been obtained with non-heart-beating livers donors by the Oswaldo Cruz University Hospital Group.
Liver transplantation; Tissue donors; Liver; Heart arrest; Patients selection