Quick preparation of ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation for acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is life-threatening and has to be treated by liver transplantation urgently. When deceased donors or ABO-compatible living donors are not available, ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) becomes the only choice. How to prepare ABO-I LDLT urgently is an unsolved issue. A quick preparation regimen was designed, which was consisted of bortezomib (3.5 mg) injection to deplete plasma cells and plasma exchange to achieve isoagglutinin titer ≤ 1: 64 just prior to liver transplantation and followed by rituximab (375 mg/m²) on post-operative day 1 to deplete B-cells. Eight patients received this quick preparation regimen to undergo ABO-I LDLT for acute liver failure from 2012 to 2019. They aged between 50 and 60 years. The median MELD score was 39 with a range from 35 to 48. It took 4.75 ± 1.58 days to prepare such an urgent ABO-I LDLT. All the patients had successful liver transplantations, but one patient died of antibody-mediated rejection at post-operative month 6. The 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year graft/patient survival were 100%, 87.5%, and 75%, respectively. In conclusion, this quick preparation regimen can reduce isoagglutinin titers quickly and make timely ABO-I LDLT feasible for acute liver failure.