Introduction: Women who have previously donated a kidney are at increased risk of pre-eclampsia. Nearly half of living liver donors are women of child-bearing age. Beyond one case report of successful live birth, fetal and maternal outcomes after living liver donation are unknown.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of female living liver donors whose donations occurred between age 18-49 from a single institution. Participants were identified and contacted via email with a survey inquiring about pre- and post-donation non-live birth pregnancies and live birth pregnancies. Comparisons were made between pre-donation pregnancies and post-donation pregnancies.

Results: Fifty-one eligible donors were identified and surveyed with 33 responses (64.7% response rate). There was a total of 54 pregnancies (47 pre-donation, 7 post-donation). Of the 7 post-donation pregnancies, there was 1 case of fetal loss, 1 case of pregnancy-induced hypertension, and 1 case of pre-eclampsia. Live birth deliveries occurred from 1.1 years to 9.2 years after donation. Comparing pre-donation and post-donation pregnancies, there was no significant difference in mean age at pregnancy (28.8 vs. 31.1 years, p=0.152), fetal loss (27.7% vs. 14.3%, p=0.409), pregnancy-induced hypertension (8.5% vs. 14.3%, p=0.515), pre-eclampsia (5.9% vs. 16.7%, p=0.394), gestational diabetes (6.4% vs. 0%, p=0.654), premature birth (8.8% vs. 0%, p=0.606), or cesarean section (20.6% vs. 50%, p=0.153). Of liver-associated diseases of pregnancy, there was one case of hemolysis, elevated LFTs, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome pre-donation and no cases of acute fatty liver or intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Conclusions: We found no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes between pregnancies before and after living liver donation amongst living liver donors but power is limited by the small number of cases. Future research should continue monitoring this important patient-centered outcome across a larger cohort of donors.

CITATION INFORMATION: Lee G., Sonnenberg E., Olthoff K., Goldberg D., Abt P. Pregnancy Outcomes after Living Liver Donation Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

« Back to 2018 American Transplant Congress