Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

An increasing number of older adults are diagnosed with end-stage liver disease. End-stage liver disease is a life-threatening condition in which the liver stops working normally. It can be caused by hepatitis, alcoholism, cancer, and other conditions. A liver transplant is the only treatment for end-stage liver disease.

Although older adults make up almost 24 percent of people waiting for liver transplants, they have often not been considered candidates for receiving this life-saving surgery. That’s because older adults often do poorly following liver transplant surgery. One reason for this is that older adults with liver disease often have many other health challenges which make recovery from transplant surgery more difficult.

However, researchers have recently reported successful liver transplants in older adults—even in people who are in their 80’s.

To learn more about older adults and liver transplants, a team of researchers studied information recorded by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) from 2003 to 2016. The SRTR data system includes information about all liver donors, people on liver transplant wait lists, and people who have received transplants in the United States. The team’s study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading →