University Health Performs Nation’s First Seven-Way Living liver Paired Exchange, Saving Seven Recipients
USA: University Health Transplant Institute this month completed the country’s first seven-way living liver paired exchange, a milestone described by the center as the largest liver transplant exchange performed nationally. The complex coordinated effort allowed seven recipients who otherwise faced long waits or incompatibility barriers to receive life-saving liver transplants through a linked series of living donations.
The paired exchange program pairs incompatible donor–recipient pairs into chains so a donor who cannot give to their intended recipient instead donates to another patient, and that recipient’s donor reciprocates down the chain. Long established in kidney transplantation, liver paired exchange is an emerging strategy; the seven-way exchange at University Health represents a major expansion of its use in living donor liver transplantation and offers a template for larger, collaborative exchanges.
Dr. Tunji Claire, who leads the liver program, outlined candidate criteria and safety measures: potential living donors typically are adults in reasonable health between about 18 and 60 and undergo thorough medical and psychological evaluation. Donation involves removing a right or left lobe of the liver, which—if healthy—regenerates rapidly; donors are expected to regain baseline function and maintain normal life expectancy following recovery.
The surgeries also used minimally invasive robotic techniques for donor procedures, reducing incision size, blood loss, pain and recovery time, and enabling earlier return to normal activities. Performed during Donate Life month, the exchange highlights both the life-saving potential of living donor liver transplantation and the growing role of paired exchanges and advanced surgical technology in expanding access to organs.
Video originally published on 2026-04-22 12:34:31
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