Consensus, Dilemmas, and Challenges in Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Latin America.

We reviewed the history, volume, outcomes, uniqueness, and challenges of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in Latin America. We used the data from the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society, local transplant societies, and opinions from local transplant experts. There are more than 160 active liver transplant teams in Latin America, but only 30 centers have used LDLT in the past 2 years. In 2014, 226 LDLTs were done in the region (8.5% of liver transplant activities). Living donor liver transplantation is mainly restricted to pediatric patients. Adult-to-adult LDLT activities decreased after the implementation of the model for end-stage liver disease score and a concomitant increase on the rate of deceased donors per million population. Posttransplant outcome analysis is not mandatory, transparent or regulated in most countries. More experienced teams have outcomes comparable to international expert centers, but donor and recipient morbidity might be underreported. Latin America lags behind in terms of the number of adult LDLT and the rate of living donor utilization in comparison with other continents with similar donation rates. Local alliances and collaborations with major transplant centers in the developed world will contribute to the development of LDLT in Latin America.

Renal replacement therapy in Latin American end-stage renal disease.

The Latin American Dialysis and Renal Transplant Registry (RLADTR) was founded in 1991; it collects data from 20 countries which are members of Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nefrología e Hipertension. This paper presents the results corresponding to the year 2010. This study is an annual survey requesting data on incident and prevalent patients undergoing renal replacement treatment (RRT) in all modalities: hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) and living with a functioning graft (LFG), etc. Prevalence and incidence were compared with previous years. The type of renal replacement therapy was analyzed, with special emphasis on PD and transplant (Tx). These variables were correlated with the gross national income (GNI) and the life expectancy at birth. Twenty countries participed in the surveys, covering 99% of the Latin American. The prevalence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) under RRT in Latin America (LA) increased from 119 patients per million population (pmp) in 1991 to 660 pmp in 2010 (HD 413 pmp, PD 135 pmp and LFG 111 pmp). HD proportionally increased more than PD, and Tx HD continues to be the treatment of choice in the region (75%). The kidney Tx rate increased from 3.7 pmp in 1987 to 6.9 pmp in 1991 and to 19.1 in 2010. The total number of Tx's in 2010 was 10 397, with 58% deceased donors. The total RRT prevalence correlated positively with GNI (r2 0.86; P < 0.05) and life expectancy at birth (r2 0.58; P < 0.05). The HD prevalence and the kidney Tx rate correlated significantly with the same indexes, whereas the PD rate showed no correlation with these variables. A tendency to rate stabilization/little growth was reported in the most regional countries. As in previous reports, the global incidence rate correlated significantly only with GNI (r2 0.63; P < 0.05). Diabetes remained the leading cause of ESRD. The most frequent causes of death were cardiovascular (45%) and infections (22%). Neoplasms accounted for 10% of the causes of death. The prevalence of RRT continues to increase, particularly in countries with 100% public health or insurance coverage for RRT, where it approaches rates comparable to those displayed by developed countries with a better GNI. The incidence also continues to increase in both countries that have not yet extended its coverage to 100% of the population as well as in those that have an adequate program for timely detection and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its associated risk factors. PD is still an underutilized strategy for RRT in the region. Even though renal Tx is feasible, its growth rate is still not as fast as it should be in order to compensate for the increased prevalence of patients on waiting lists. Diagnostic and prevention programs for hypertension and diabetes, appropriate policies promoting the expansion of PD and organ procurement as well as transplantation as cost-effective forms of RRT are needed in the region. Regional cooperation among Latin American countries, allowing the more developed to guide and train others in starting registries and CKD programs, may be one of the key initiatives to address this deficit.

An international opinion poll of well-educated people regarding awareness and feelings about organ donation for transplantation.

Despite repeated campaigns promoting transplantation, the high donation refusal rate remains unchanged. We targeted a well-educated population to assess the impact of our current transplantation promoting programs and personal feelings toward new approaches to organ donation. A questionnaire was proposed in five universities to students and university staffs that would have been likely to benefit from previous information campaigns in two South American and three European countries. All of the 2321 people interviewed replied to at least one question. Organ shortage was considered as a serious public health issue. However, there was a widespread ignorance of religious precepts concerning transplantation that contributed to the low acceptance rate of organ sharing after death. Financial rewards for donors or their families remain controversial. There was a general agreement for early educational programs in schools. Most people still consider organ donation as a gift, but many would now agree to readily share body parts after death. This biased population of well-educated people has still little knowledge of organ donation. The negative impact of ignorance surrounding religious precepts and the high acceptance rate of educational programs in schools, justify supporting an intensive international effort in education that should also include Church leaders.

Strategies for establishing organ transplant programs in developing countries: the Latin America and Caribbean experience.

The Latin America and Caribbean region is composed of 39 countries. It is remarkable the progress of transplantation in the region in despite of the low economic resources when compared to other regions. The criteria for brain death are well established and culturally accepted. The consent for retrieval is based on required family consent in most countries. The regulations for living donors are also well established, with restrictions to unrelated donors and prohibition of any kind of commerce. The access to transplant is limited by the model of public financing by each country, and those with public universal coverage have no financial restrictions to cover the costs for any citizen; in countries with restricted coverage, the access is restricted to the employment status. There is a progressive increment in the annual number of solid organ transplants in Latin America, reaching near 10,000 in 2004, accomplished by adequate legislation that is also concerned with the prohibition of organ commerce.

Renal transplants using expanded cadaver donor criteria.

AIMS: to analyze the frequency of transplants using expanded donor criteria (EDC) and the incidence of delayed graft function, acute rejection and the patient and graft survival compared to ideal donors (ID). PATIENTS: retrospective analysis of the 582 cadaver renal transplants performed from Jun 1988 to Mar 2003 in adult recipients. The expanded donor criteria were considered as history of hypertension or evidence of atherosclerosis, diabetes, age less than 5 or more than 55 years old, serum creatinine higher than 2.0 mg/dL, shock and retrieval in cardiac arrest. The statistical analysis used was Student t test, Chi-square test, and Kaplan-Meier method as indicated. RESULTS: 25.4% of our transplants used expanded criteria donor. Comparing, respectively, the EDC and ID we found: the incidence of delayed graft function of 63.9% vs 50.4% (P: 0.007); incidence of acute rejection of 66.1% vs 72.3% (P: 0.203). The patient survival at 1 and 5 years was 87% vs 92% and 81% vs 79%, respectively (P: 0.6809). The graft survival at 1 and 5 year was 74% vs 82% and 57% vs 59% (P: 0.2072), respectively for EDC and ID. CONCLUSIONS: One fourth of our cadaver transplants fulfilled the extended donor criteria. The incidence of delayed graft function was higher in these transplants, but the prevalence of rejection episodes was similar to ideal donors. The patient and graft survival were not statistically different at 1 and 5 year.