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World J Transplant. Jun 18, 2026; 16(2): 115702
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i2.115702
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i2.115702
Donor size and early vascular complications in children receiving a whole liver transplant
Irene Dieguez Hernandez Vaquero, Alba Bueno Jimenez, Areej M Salim, Hector Vilca-Melendez, Rebeca Sanabria Mateos, Joseph J Valamparampil, Evelyn Ong, Girish L Gupte, Khalid Sharif, Liver Unit, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham B4 6NH, United Kingdom
Hector Vilca-Melendez, Rebeca Sanabria Mateos, Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birm
Author contributions: Bueno Jimenez A and Sharif K designed the research study and supervised the entire process; Dieguez Hernandez Vaquero I and Salim AM developed the methods, collected the data and performed the statistical analysis; Dieguez Hernandez Vaquero I wrote the original draft; Bueno Jimenez A, Vilca-Melendez H, Sanabria Mateos R, Valamparampil J, Ong E, Gupte GL, Sharif K, provided patients and were involved in their medical care; Also reviewed the last version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the (Institution’s Research & Development office) Institutional Review Board, No. 39/BWC/LA/Dieguez.
Informed consent statement: This study was registered with the Institution’s Research & Development office and in accordance with the United States National Research Ethics Service guidance, neither individual informed consent nor formal research ethics committee review was required as the study was undertaken by the direct clinical care team using information previously collected in the course of routine care.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at dieguez.irene@nhs.net.
Corresponding author: Irene Dieguez Hernandez Vaquero, Liver Unit, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Steelhouse Ln, St. Chads Tunnel, Birmingham B4 6NH, United Kingdom.
Received: October 27, 2025
Revised: December 15, 2025
Accepted: January 22, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 218 Days and 14.1 Hours
Revised: December 15, 2025
Accepted: January 22, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 218 Days and 14.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This single-centre study evaluates the impact of donor size on early vascular complications after paediatric whole liver transplantation. Grafts from donors ≤ 15 kg showed higher rates of early vascular complications and retransplantation. Although donor weight itself was not an independent risk factor, it reflects the anatomical and technical challenges of small-calibre vessels. Recognising this association may help optimise graft selection, surgical planning, and postoperative moni