Development of a UK liver transplantation selection and allocation scheme.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Equitable allocation of organs for liver transplantation remains a major area of ongoing study. In United Kingdom, it was agreed that the success of any national donor offering scheme would be judged from the point of registration on a national list for a transplant, and would therefore include outcome while waiting for the procedure.

RECENT FINDINGS

Standard minimal criteria for acceptance onto a transplant list have been developed for chronic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma and for a number of variant syndromes where current scores do not adequately reflect the risk of death without a transplant or symptom burden. Allocation by need, or on the basis of utility, or by transplant benefit (net life years gained) were compared in a simulation against current unit-based allocation. A transplant benefit model was shown to reduce deaths on the waiting list and maximise population life years.

SUMMARY

Since March 2018, liver donors after brain death in United Kingdom have been offered to a national list prioritised by net life years gained - transplant benefit.