Why Give? - Liver Transplant Research
What is the success rate of liver transplantation in children if a liver becomes
available?
Long-term survival after pediatric liver transplantation
is now the rule rather than the exception. The
one-year survival for liver transplantation in children is
between 90-95% and 5
year survival rates are >85%
at experienced centers. What are some of the research priorities needed
to further improve the long-term outcomes after liver transplantation
in children?
With such favorable long-term survival
rates, patients,
their families and health care providers now face
new challenges after liver transplantation -
particularly related to the life-long
immune suppression and follow-up currently necessary
after liver transplantation. Better understanding
of the long-term medical
considerations is of critical importance in children
who have received a liver transplant, who by
nature of their young age,
face a greater cumulative burden of life-long immunosuppression.
The outcomes of long-term survivors of pediatric
liver transplantation will be further optimized
by research focus on questions such as:
i) What
are the risk factors associated
with the development of long-term immunosuppression
complications (such as renal disease, malignancy,
and infections)?
ii) What
are the risk factors for the development
of problems with the liver allograft many
years after the
liver transplant operation?
iii) Does my child need to take immunosuppression
medications for the rest of his/her life?
iv)
Can new biomarkers be developed
so that immunosuppression regimens can be
individually tailored to each child?
v) How can we
advance our understanding for
strategies to further optimize growth, intellectual
development, adherence behaviors for adolescents,
and health-related quality
of life for patients who have received a liver
transplantation as a child?
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