Hepatitis C positive grafts may be used in orthotopic liver transplantation: a matched analysis.

Hepatitis C (HCV)-positive liver grafts have been increasingly used in patients with decompensated liver disease from HCV because of critical shortage of available organs. Fifty-nine recipients of HCV-positive grafts were matched to patients who received HCV-negative grafts. All recipients were transplanted for HCV liver disease. Matching variables were (1) status, (2) pre-transplant creatinine, (3) recipient age, (4) donor age, (5) warm ischemia time, and (6) year of transplantation. Both unmatched and matched analyses were performed on patient survival, graft survival, and time to HCV recurrence. There was no significant statistical difference in patient, graft, or HCV recurrence-free survival between recipients of HCV-positive and HCV-negative grafts with matched and unmatched analyses (p > 0.05). The 3-year estimates of HCV disease-free survival were 12% (+/- 9%) and 19% (+/- 7%) using HCV-positive and -negative grafts, respectively. The use of HCV-positive grafts in recipients with HCV does not appear to affect patient survival, graft survival, or HCV recurrence when compared with the use of HCV-negative grafts. Our results suggest that HCV-positive grafts can be used in a HCV liver transplant recipient.