Liver Donor Dies From Postoperative Complications in Japan

After almost 2,300 living-donor liver transplants in Japan, a woman in her 40s has become the first donor to die from postoperative complications, according to doctors at Kyoto University Hospital.

Doctors said the woman, who donated part of her liver to her teenage daughter last August, had suffered a variety of complications and had received a liver transplant herself in January. She died of multiple organ failure.

The Japanese Liver Transplantation Society said an examination of the woman's liver following the initial transplant showed that only 26 percent remained following the donor surgery.

Japaneses doctors said a minimum of 30 percent of the liver needs to remain in the donor for the organ to regenerate satisfactorily after part is transplanted to another person.

Attention was focused on the the risk to liver donors in the United States last year when a donor died shortly after surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York (see earlier Transplant Week story).

In Japan, about 10 percent of living donors have complained of postoperative digestive organ disorders, depression and other diseases, according to specialists.

Other Sources: Yomiuri Shimbun