Transplant candidates seek best quality livers, even if it means waiting longer

University of Michigan Health System

U-M researcher finds patients would rather be on waiting list than accept an organ with higher risk of failure

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Liver transplantation candidates want to be involved in decisions regarding quality of the donor organ, and many are reluctant to accept organs with a higher risk of failure, according to research by a U-M physician.

More than 42 percent of patients would choose to remain on the waiting list rather than accept a “lower quality” liver according to the study's lead author Michael L. Volk, M.D., M.S., assistant professor in U-M’s Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology.

Research from Volk and his colleagues will appear in the December issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Read more: http://www.uofmhealth.org/News/transplant-candidates-seek-best-organs-even-if-it-means-waiting