ABSTRACT
Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is highly effective for patients with liver failure, restoring normal health and, hopefully, a normal lifestyle. Patient survival is excellent; nationally, the survival rate is 86% at 1 year after OLT and 78% at 3 years. However, the demand for donor organs greatly exceeds supply. In the United States, about 6,500 deceased donor organs and about 300 to 500 living donor organs are available annually, but currently, more than 17,000 patients are on the liver transplant list. Patient selection and organ allocation are two major problems.
