Ann Liver Transplant.  2021 Nov;1(2):135-139. 10.52604/alt.21.0026.

Analysis of nationwide volume of liver transplantation in Korea during 2020 shows no definitive decrease during COVID-19 outbreak

• Chung YK
• Kang SH

• KMID: 2560863
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.52604/alt.21.0026

Abstract

Background
Recent outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has discouraged organ donation. To determine its impact on liver transplantation (LT) at Korean transplant centers, it is necessary to analyze the incidence and type of LT in each center.
Methods
The number of deceased donor LT (DDLT) and living donor LT (LDLT) operations performed during the year 2020 were analyzed using the Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS) database.
Results
During the 21-year period from 2000 to 2020, the total number of all deceased organ donors was 6,064 and 5,252 cases of DDLT were performed. The deceased donor and DDLT case numbers were 450 and 391, respectively, in the year 2019, and 478 and 395, respectively, in the year 2020 (p=0.284). The mean number of monthly DDLT was 32.6±5.7 in 2019 and 32.9±4.7 in 2020 (p=0.877). The case numbers of DDLT and LDLT in 2020 were 395 and 1,221, respectively. Forty-one centers performed both DDLT and LDLT, but five centers performed only DDLT and another 10 centers performed only LDLT. The five major LT centers performed 974 cases, which accounted for 60.3% of nation-wide LT volume in 2020, including 45.3% of DDLT and 65.1% of LDLT.
Conclusion
The results of this study suggested that national activities of DDLT and LDLT remained stable in Korea in the year 2020, despite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Further follow-up studies are necessary to validate the results of this study.

Keyword

Coronavirus disease 19; Deceased donor; Living donor; Immunosuppression; Donation promotion