Background: The Japanese Liver Transplantation Society presented its first report on donor morbidity in 2003. The Society has been continuing to survey outcomes in living liver donors in Japan.
Methods: By using a uniform comprehensive medical record review process, data were collected on 3565 living liver donors who had donated grafts by the end of December 2006 at 38 Japanese centers.
Results: Preoperative problems were reported in 2 donors, intraoperative problems in 27, and postoperative complications in 270. In total, 299 donors (8.4%) suffered complications related to liver donation. Postoperative complications included biliary complications in 3.0%, reoperation in 1.3%, severe after-effects in two (0.06%), and death (apparently related to donor surgery) in one donor (0.03%). The incidence of postoperative complications in left and right lobe donors was 8.7% and 9.4%, respectively.
Conclusions: The accumulated experience indicates a reduction in the incidence of donor complications, especially for right lobe resection. One donor death and two cases of severe after effects related to liver donation have been reported during 18 years of living donor liver transplantation experience in Japan.