Donor BMI >30 Is Not a Contraindication for Live Liver Donation

The increased prevalence of obesity worldwide threatens the pool of living liver donors. While the negative effects of graft steatosis on liver donation and transplantation is well known, the impact of obesity in the absence of hepatic steatosis on outcome of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is unknown. Therefore, we compared the outcome of LDLT using donors with a BMI 10% was excluded in all donors with a BMI>30kg/m2 by imaging and liver biopsies. None of the donors had any other comorbidity. Donors with a BMI<30 vs. BMI≥30kg/m2 had similar post-operative complication rate (Dindo-Clavien ≥3b: 2% vs 3%; p=0.71) and length of hospital stay (6 vs 6; p=0.13). Recipient graft function, assessed by post-transplant peak serum bilirubin and INR was identical. Furthermore, no difference was observed in recipient's complications rate (Dindo-Clavien ≥3b: 25% vs 20%; p=0.3) or length of hospital between groups. We conclude that donors with a BMI ≥30kg/m2, in the absence of graft steatosis, are not a contraindication to LDLT. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.