Background: Due to the current geographic disparities in liver allocation a policy, which endorses broader sharing of allografts, has been proposed. We performed a retrospective cohort study to identify how nationally shared allografts, under the current policy, affect perioperative outcomes and resource utilization following liver transplantation (LT).
Methods: Univariate and multivariate analysis identified how patient characteristics and hospital outcomes were associated with national sharing. This analysis was based on 12,282 deceased donor liver transplants performed between 2007 and 2012 using the scientific registry of transplant recipients linked to the University HealthSystem Consortium database.
Results: Compared to locally distributed livers, nationally shared livers are more likely to have a donor risk index >1.8 (64.3 vs. 11.6 %), to be classified as expanded criteria donors (44.6 vs. 24.8 %), and transplanted into healthier recipients. Nationally shared LTs were more likely to be performed at high-volume centers (49.1 vs. 30.6 %), resulted in longer length of stay (11 vs. 9 days), and had higher in-hospital mortality (6.6 vs. 3.3 %). Additionally, nationally shared allografts were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.64, 95 % CI 1.13-2.39) and length of stay (OR 1.12, 95 % CI 1.02-1.21).
Conclusion: These data suggest that increased national sharing of livers may result in inferior patient outcomes and increased resource utilization.