Study reveals improving survival rates after liver transplantation in the UK

In the past two decades, death rates after liver transplantation have dropped by more than half in the UK, according to a recent analysis of almost 10,000 liver transplant recipients published in


BJS (British Journal of Surgery)


. During this time period, survival over the first 3 years has improved to 83.1% in 2012-2016 (from 71.7% in 1997-2001) for patients who had transplants for cancer and to 90.7% (from 79.6%) for those transplanted for benign diseases.

“The increase in survival after liver transplantation in the last 20 years can be explained by a combination of factors. There are improvements in short-time survival that are probably related to surgical technique and perioperative care, and improvements in long-term outcomes that are linked to developments in immunosuppression and follow-up care,” said study coauthor Professor Nigel Heaton, MBBS, FRCS, of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

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