Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41691620›Full record

ArticleClinical transplantation2026

Tailoring Liver Transplant Decisions: How Donor-Recipient Age Matching Influences Outcomes.

Abiha Abdullah, Berkay Demirors, Francis Spitz, Jason Mial-Anthony, Vrishketan Sethi, Charbel Elias, Xingyu Zhang, Stalin Dharmayan, Hao Liu, Christopher Kaltenmeier and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical transplantation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Abiha AbdullahDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Berkay DemirorsDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0321-4365
Francis SpitzDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jason Mial-AnthonyDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Vrishketan SethiDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Charbel EliasDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Xingyu ZhangSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Stalin DharmayanDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Hao LiuDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Christopher KaltenmeierDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Han ShweDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Timothy FokkenDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Michele MolinariDepartment of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9763-6253

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDonor age is a key determinant of liver transplant (LT) outcomes, but its impact varies across recipient age groups. Specific donor age thresholds associated with excess risk remain undefined.

methodsUsing data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (2011-2021; follow-up through 2024), we analyzed first-time, single-organ LT recipients. Donors and recipients were stratified by age. Outcomes included patient, graft, and death-censored graft survival. Multivariable Cox regression models adjusted for liver disease severity, comorbidities, graft type, and transplant year were used to identify donor age thresholds associated with increased risk in each recipient age group.

resultsAmong 70 078 recipients (median age, 57 years), mean donor age rose from 39.6 to 40.9 years (p =  .004), while recipient age increased from 50.7 to 51.9 years (p =  .003). Donor age ≥50 years was associated with a sixfold increase in mortality in pediatric recipients (aHR, 6.48; 95% CI, 1.92-21.83; p =  .003). For adults aged 18.1-30 years, excess mortality and graft loss were observed with donors >55 years (aHRs >2.5). In recipients aged 40.1-60 years, risk increased progressively with donor age. Among recipients ≥65 years, donor age was not significantly associated with outcomes. These thresholds were consistent across outcomes and robust in sensitivity analyses.

conclusionsThis is the first national study to define recipient age-specific donor age thresholds associated with post-LT risk. These findings support the development of age-informed allocation strategies and call for a reassessment of organ discard practices as donor and recipient ages continue to rise.

Indexed as

Donor SelectionGraft RejectionLiver TransplantationTissue DonorsTransplant RecipientsAdolescentAdultAgedAge FactorsChildChild, PreschoolFemaleFollow-Up StudiesGraft SurvivalHumansInfantdeath‐censored graft survivaldonor agegraft survivalliver transplantationrecipient agesurvival

Identifiers

PMID41691620
PMCPMC12906856

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.