Paired donations typically involve matching incompatible donor-recipient pairs with others in the same situation, though this chain was initiated by an altruistic donor: Michael Broeker, MD, a family medicine physician at Allina Health in Minneapolis, who decided to donate a portion of his liver to a stranger.
The surgeries occurred in August, with both donors and recipients recovering well.
Few health systems offer paired living donation, also known as a transplant chain, for liver transplants due to the complex logistical challenges involved. Mayo Clinic relied on a large team of nurse coordinators, physicians, social workers and surgical teams to properly match patients and coordinate the procedures.
About 10,000 people are on the liver transplant waiting list at any given time, with 20% expected to die while waiting, according to an Oct. 23 news release. Living-donor transplants offer a potential solution to the national shortage of available donor livers; however, only 6% of liver transplants performed last year involved living donors.
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