NY Approves New Rules for Living Donor Liver Transplants

New rules designed to make liver transplants from living donors safer have been unanimously approved by the New York State Transplant Council.

The rules include what doctors said was an unprecedented provision that would allow a team of donor advocates to overrule a person's wish to donate.

The team, consisting of doctors, a social worker and a transplant coordinator, would evaluate the health of the prospective donor including their "psychosocial donor suitability," and could veto a donation even if the donor wanted to proceed.

"Nothing like that has ever been done before," said council chairman Dr. David Conti, a professor of surgery at Albany Medical Center.

The recommendations, drawn up in response to the death of a donor at Mount Sinai Medical Center last January (see earlier Transplant Week story), also mandate minimum staffing levels for transplant programs. Two transplant surgeons must be present during the donor's surgery. There must be at least one nurse for every two patients in intensive care and one nurse for every four patients elsewhere in the transplant unit.

The rules also limit live donation to people aged 55 and younger, and provide that all liver donors in New York be tracked for the balance of their lives to determine whether long-term health issues arise as a result of liver donation.

"The health and safety of the organ donor must become as important as the health and safety of the recipient," said Antonia C. Novello, the commissioner of the Department of Health.

Novello now must determine which recommendations can be put into force immediately and which will require new state regulations.

Other sources: Ny State Health Department, Newsday, NY Times, Albany Times Union