The Epidemiology of Extrahepatic Biliary Atresia and Acute Liver Failure as Indications for Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Background: We sought to examine the influence of various marginal donor criteria on pediatric heart transplantation outcome. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 191 pediatric heart transplants performed in 174 patients from 1984 through 2003 at our institution. Recipients were grouped into four (0, 1, 2, and ≥ 3 marginal factors) based on number of donor marginal criteria. A marginal donor allograft was defined by at least one of the following criteria: hx of cardiac arrest, LVEF≤50%, positive hepatitis B or C serology, dopamine ≥ 10 mcg/kg/min, gender mismatch (female donor), age ≥ 34 yr, allograft ischemia time ≥ 6 hours and donor-recipient weight ratio ≤ 0.8 ≥ 2. Study endpoints were actuarial survival and freedom from rejection. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for statistical analysis. Results: