Allan M. Concejero, Chao‐Long Chen – 24 November 2009 – Live donors are a continuing source of organ grafts for solid organ transplantation in Asia. Ethical issues surrounding the development of living donor organ transplantation in Eastern countries are different from those in Western countries. Donor safety is still the paramount concern in any donor operation. Issues on organ trafficking remain societal concerns in low‐income nations. Religion, cultural background, economic prerogatives, and timely legislation contribute to the social acceptance and maturation of organ donation.

Stephen C. Ward, Thomas D. Schiano, Swan N. Thung, M. Isabel Fiel – 24 November 2009 – Plasma cell hepatitis (PCH) is characterized by plasma cell infiltration seen in allografts of patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT) for conditions other than autoimmune hepatitis. We identified 40 PCH patients who underwent LT for hepatitis C virus (HCV) by searching our pathology database (1994–2006) for the keywords liver allograft, lymphoplasmacytic, and plasma cell(s). We selected 2 control patients who received LT for HCV for each PCH case.

24 November 2009

Karl‐Heinz Schulz, Sylvia Kroencke, Mingo Beckmann, Silvio Nadalin, Andreas Paul, Lutz Fischer, Björn Nashan, Wolfgang Senf, Yesim Erim – 24 November 2009 – In a quasi‐experimental design, we investigated the quality of life (QOL) in actual liver donors (n = 43) and potential liver donors (n = 33) before and 3 months after liver transplantation. This is the first study in this field combining a prospective design with an adequate control group.

Jean F. Botha, B. Daniel Campos, Jason Johanning, David Mercer, Wendy Grant, Alan Langnas – 24 November 2009 – Adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation is an accepted treatment option for patients with end‐stage liver disease. It is generally acknowledged that a graft weight to recipient body weight ratio > 0.8 is required in order to prevent the development of small‐for‐size syndrome.

Rafael Lopez‐Andujar, Saulo Deusa, Eva Montalvá, Fernando San Juan, Angel Moya, Eugenia Pareja, Manuel DeJuan, Marina Berenguer, Martín Prieto, Jose Mir – 24 November 2009 – University of Wisconsin solution (UWS) is the gold standard for graft preservation. Celsior solution (CS) is a new solution not as yet widely used in liver grafts. The aim of this study was to compare the liver function of transplanted grafts stored in these 2 preservation solutions. The primary endpoints were the rates of primary nonfunction (PNF) and primary dysfunction (PDF).

Wayel Jassem, Susan Fuggle, Richard Thompson, Matthew Arno, Jennifer Taylor, Jane Byrne, Nigel Heaton, Mohamed Rela – 24 November 2009 – Ischemic preconditioning (IP) is an effective method for protecting organs from ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury; however, the molecular basis of this protective effect is poorly understood. This study assessed the gene expression profile in liver allografts during transplantation and evaluated the impact of IP.

Michelangelo Fiorentino, Francesco Vasuri, Matteo Ravaioli, Lorenza Ridolfi, Walter Franco Grigioni, Antonio Daniele Pinna, Antonia D'Errico‐Grigioni – 24 November 2009 – Histological quality assessment of donated livers is a key factor for extending the cadaveric donor pool for liver transplantation. We retrospectively compared frozen‐section analysis with routine histological permanent slides and the outcomes of grafts in liver biopsies from 294 candidate donors.

Jorge Rakela, John F. Fung – 24 November 2009

Jie Ren, Ming‐De Lu, Rong‐Qin Zheng, Min‐Qiang Lu, Mei Liao, Yong‐Jiang Mao, Zhi‐Juan Zheng, Yan Lu – 24 November 2009 – The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound for depicting the perfusion of hilar bile ducts in ischemic‐type biliary lesions after orthotopic liver transplantation. Thirteen transplant recipients with ischemic‐type biliary lesions and 12 patients without ischemic‐type biliary lesions underwent ultrasound examinations after the injection of 1.5 mL of an intravenous contrast agent.