With the need for livers for transplantation rapidly increasing, an Australian study concludes that livers from older cadaveric donors are suitable for use with some recipients.

The researchers at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, reviewing records of 393 patients who received liver transplants between 1986 and 1997, reported that since 1992 "the growing imbalance between the number of cadaveric organ donors and recipients has led to an increasing use of high-risk donors as an option to expand the donor pool."

They then compared patient and graft survival in 61 patients receiving "older livers (OL)" -- livers from donors over the age of 50 -- with outcomes in 332 patients who received younger livers.

The researchers reported in the journal Clinical Transplantation that even though recipients of older livers were older than recipients of younger livers and more commonly had underlying chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) or fulminant hepatic failure, patient and liver survival were "only slightly less in recipients of older livers versus younger livers.

"Older liver allografts can be transplanted with acceptable results into recipients without the concern of early allograft loss," the researchers concluded.