Platelet Transfusion can be Related to Liver Regeneration After Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Although liver regeneration is a fundamental aspect of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), the factors that affect liver regeneration during the early post-transplantation period have not been thoroughly investigated. Recently it was suggested that platelets contribute to liver regeneration. The aim of the present study was to identify the major factors that affect liver graft regeneration during the early post-transplantation period.

Eighty-seven right liver grafted, adult-to-adult LDLT patients were retrospectively analyzed. Liver regeneration was assessed by volumetry from computed tomographic (CT) scans obtained between the 9th and 11th postoperative days. The authors investigated relationships between clinical variables and liver graft regeneration rates, and they conducted multiple regression analysis on factors found to be significant by univariate analysis.

Mean graft weight at operation was 722.9 ± 109.7 g, and mean graft volume assessed by follow-up CT was 1,042.2 ± 155.6 ml, reflecting a mean liver graft regeneration of 45.9 ± 22.3%. The graft regeneration was found to correlate inversely with graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR, r = −0.406, p < 0.001) and directly with portal flow velocity (cm/s; r = 0.307; p = 0.004) and splenic index (cm³; r = 0.282; p = 0.009). Moreover, the total amount (units) of platelets transfused was found to be significantly associated with graft regeneration (r = 0.293; p = −.006). Stepwise regression analysis showed that GRWR (β = −33.124; p = 0.001), total amount of platelets transfused (β = 0.771; p = 0.012), and splenic index (β = −0.010; p = 0.049) were independently associated with graft regeneration.

The results of the present study suggest that platelets play a significant role in human liver regeneration after LDLT.