Abstract
We investigated whether liver transplantation affects endogeneous erythropoietin (EPO) synthesis. Serum EPO levels were measured before transplantation and during the peri-transplant period in ten consecutive paediatric patients who had received a liver allograft without recombinant EPO therapy. All patients were anaemic on post-operative day 1 (POD 1); however, the haemoglobin levels of three patients gradually increased and required phlebotomy on POD 5-9. The serum levels of EPO in all patients were within the normal range before surgery, but six of the ten patients had a transient increased level of EPO at 12-48 h after transplantation. A transient increase of endogeneous EPO following paediatric liver transplantation may be associated with extramedullary erythropoiesis in human liver grafts.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 205-267 |
Number of pages | 63 |
Journal | Transplant Immunology |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 12 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |