Effect of donor-disseminated intravascular coagulation in liver transplantation

S. S. Cheng, C. W. Pinson, R. R. Lopez, R. A. Crass and R. S. Johnson
Department of Surgery, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.

It is not known whether disseminated intravascular coagulation, present in a large percentage of organ donors, affects patient outcome after liver transplantation. We reviewed our first 55 liver transplantations and identified 10 donors with disseminated intravascular coagulation. We compared the perioperative courses of the 10 recipients of these transplanted livers with those of 10 matched controls whose donors did not have disseminated intravascular coagulation. Disseminated intravascular coagulation recipients did not require more blood products during or after surgery; their hepatic enzyme levels and prothrombin times after surgery were not statistically significantly higher than those of the controls. There was no difference in hospital stay, number of episodes of rejection, retransplantations, or deaths. The presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation in donors did not adversely affect graft function or patient outcome and should not be a sole criterion for rejecting a liver for transplantation.