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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Transplant. Jun 18, 2024; 14(2): 90382
Published online Jun 18, 2024. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v14.i2.90382
Expanding the liver donor pool worldwide with hepatitis C infected livers, is it the time?
Mai Hashem, Mohammed A Medhat, Doaa Abdeltawab, Nahed A Makhlouf
Mai Hashem, Fellow of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Mohammed A Medhat, Nahed A Makhlouf, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Doaa Abdeltawab, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Al-Rajhi Liver Hospital, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Author contributions: Hashem M, Medhat MA, Abdeltawab D and Makhlouf NA equally contributed to this paper with the conception and design of the work, literature review, drafting and critical revision, editing, and final approval of the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mai Hashem, MBChB, MD, MHSc, Lecturer, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut University Campus, Assiut 71515, Egypt. maihashem@med.aun.edu.eg
Received: December 1, 2023
Revised: February 29, 2024
Accepted: April 12, 2024
Published online: June 18, 2024
Processing time: 195 Days and 13.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: There is an imbalance between donor organ supply in liver transplantation and the demand. Unfulfilled demands in organ transplant communities prompt new approaches to increasing donor pools. Direct acting antiviral (DAA) regimens have proved higher efficacy in treating hepatitis C virus (HCV). Available data shows that HCV non-viremic donor organs can be used in HCV-negative or positive liver transplant candidates safely. Furthermore, using liver grafts from HCV-viremic donors in liver transplant candidates, even if they were HCV negative, is showing favorable outcomes. Preoperative informed consent and easy access to DAAs with the engagement of clinical pharmacists are indispensable to ensuring these good outcomes.