Forty years of liver transplantation: personal recollections.

When the first ever successful human liver transplantations were performed by Starzl in Denver in 1967, Groth was a key member of the team. Essential factors that led to success were the use of non-damaged liver grafts and the application of a triple drug immunosuppressive regimen. By now, eight patients have survived for more than 30 years after liver transplantation worldwide; six of these patients are from the Denver series. In 1984, Groth initiated a liver transplant program in Stockholm with eight recipients now surviving beyond 20 years.