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AI Summary of Peer-Reviewed Research

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Donor age affects younger liver transplant recipients more

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Black and white photograph of four medical professionals in surgical attire working around an operating table with surgical instruments and equipment visible in a hospital operating room.
Research area:SurgeryOrgan Donation and TransplantationOrgan Transplantation Techniques and Outcomes

What the study found

Older donor age was linked to worse liver transplant outcomes, especially for younger recipients. In contrast, outcomes in recipients aged 65 and older were largely not affected by donor age.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that the findings support more age-conscious organ allocation strategies and provide thresholds that may help guide donor-recipient matching. The study suggests that donor-recipient age matching is especially important when considering younger recipients.

What the researchers tested

The researchers studied adult and pediatric liver transplant recipients in the United States from 2011 to 2021. They examined donor and recipient age trends, allocation patterns, and posttransplant outcomes using multivariable Cox models, including patient survival, graft survival, and death-censored graft survival.

What worked and what didn't

The cohort included 57,142 liver transplant recipients and their donors. Mean donor and recipient age increased modestly but significantly over time, and five-year patient and graft survival declined as donor age increased, particularly among younger recipients. Donor age over 45 years was associated with higher mortality and graft failure in recipients 35 years or younger, while outcomes in recipients 65 years or older were largely unaffected; death-censored analyses showed similar patterns.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not describe all study limitations. The reported findings come from United States transplant data from 2011 to 2021, so the scope is limited to that setting and time period.

Key points

  • The study found that older donor age had a stronger negative effect on younger liver transplant recipients.
  • Recipients aged 65 and older were largely unaffected by donor age in the reported analyses.
  • Donor age over 45 years was linked to higher mortality and graft failure in recipients aged 35 years or younger.
  • From 2011 to 2021, mean donor and recipient ages increased modestly but significantly.
  • The authors say the findings support more age-conscious organ allocation strategies.

Disclosure

Research title:
Donor age affects younger liver transplant recipients more
Authors:
Charbel Elias, Jason Mial-Anthony, Abiha Abdullah, Vrishketan Sethi, Amaan Rahman, Xingyu Zhang, Sabin Subedi, Godwin Packaraj, Stalin Dharmayan, Christopher Kaltenmeier, Hao Liu, Michele Molinari
Institutions:
University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Publication date:
2026-03-05
DOI:
10.1097/tp.0000000000005632
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.