Ethical Issues When Considering Liver Donor Versus Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Patients unlikely to obtain deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) are offered living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) as an alternative. The success of LDLT is bound to the availability of altruistic donors who undergo smooth and safe surgery. Donor morbidity is reported to be up to 20–30%, while donor mortality is only 0.1–0.5%. Globally, LDLT poses numerous ethical concerns regarding living donors, such as autonomy, non-maleficence, and beneficence. The donor’s comprehension of information is a serious issue in LDLT. The donors may underestimate the risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as can ignore the long-term psychological consequences. Furthermore, donor voluntariness may be questionable as the donors may agree to donate under severe family pressure or emotional attachment. We propose open communication with all the donors, ensuring that they should not be subjected to any undue pressure or emotional lability. Donor knowledge and understanding of potential complications and the psychosocial aspect can be augmented by good communication. We also suggest that the donors’ education and psychological evaluation should be done in a friendly environment with complete privacy. Interventions should be aimed at improving communication and independent decision-making with the use of e-health educational tools for comprehension assessment.

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Approach to Liver Transplantation: Is There a Difference between East and West?

Ozturk,

Bartosek,

Toruner

et al. 2024

JCM

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Liver transplantation (LT) remains the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease as well as acute liver failure. With the exponential increase in organ demand due to the increasing incidence and prevalence of liver diseases, the need to overcome the supply and demand mismatch has arisen. In this review, we discuss the current universal status of LT, emphasizing various LT practices worldwide.

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Ethical Issues When Considering Liver Donor Versus Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure- Indication, Prioritization, Timing, and Referral

Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure- Indication, Prioritization, Timing, and Referral

Donor’s ability to comprehend and carefully assess the benefits and risks of donation in living donor liver transplantation: a Pakistani perspective – a short communication

Approach to Liver Transplantation: Is There a Difference between East and West?

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