Would patients with hepatitis C virus on the waiting list for a liver transplant accept a hepatitis C-positive organ?

摘要

The number of livers available for carrying out liver transplantation is limited. Different strategies have been used to expand the pool of donors. In this respect, chronic viral cirrhosis is the most frequent diagnosis among patients on the waiting list (1-3), and given universal relapse caused by the virus in the transplanted graft (4), many authors have considered the possibility of using grafts from hepatitis C virus (HCV)- or hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive donors for HCV- or HBV-positive recipients, respectively. The initial results with the use of these organs are contradictory. Some authors have described worse results and suggest that the use of these organs represents a risky treatment (5,6). On the other hand, others surmise that this therapeutic option is safe and does not reduce survival time of the graft or of the patient (1,7-9).