Introduction: The demand for transplantable organs exceeds donor supply. Transplantation of organs from donors with past history of malignancy is controversial, and the transmission of cancer in liver transplant recipients has not been sufficiently determined.

Patient and methods: From 2002 until 2012, 47 livers from donors with a past history of malignancy were transplanted at the University Hospital Essen. Donor and recipient data, type of malignancy, tumor-free interval at organ procurement and follow-up data were collected and analyzed.

Results: Nine tumor sites [genitourinary (n=19), brain (n=14), skin (n= 2), breast (n=5), thyroid (n=2), lung (n=2), acute myeloid leukemia (n=1), larynx (n=1), liver (n=1)] were diagnosed in the 47 donors with a history of malignancy. The majority (68%) of donors had tumor-free intervals of 5 years or less. During median follow up of 520 days (31-2840) no recipients of organs from donors with malignancy in history developed donor-derived cancer.

Conclusion: Liver transplantation with organs from donors with a past medical history of malignancy is feasible and the risk of donor-transmitted tumor seems to be small. The careful selection of donors remains mandatory and can expand the donor pool.

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