Evaluation of donors for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT)

Liver transplantation has been the last resort of definite treatment for decompensate cirrhosis, early-stage of hepatocellular carcinoma, and acute liver failure. Organ shortage is the major obstacle of deceased-donor liver transplantation. Since the first case of living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT), many centers around the world started the LDLT program. Living donors should be informed about the possible risk of morbidity and mortality, and later give consent for liver donation without coercion. Donor selection and evaluation have become one of the important steps prior to LDLT, aiming to exclude donors who may have high risks from LDLT and to assure that LDLT recipients will receive perfect liver grafts. In Thailand, living donors must have been blood relatives or be legally married with recipients for at least three years. Donor evaluation can be divided into three step-by-step phases. Psychological evaluation of living donors is also included in pre-transplant assessment.