Demand, Waitlisting and Transplantation Around the World: The Axiomatic View of Scarcity in Liver Transplantation

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Main Authors: Charles Thomas, Patrick O'Regan, Sara Shahrestani, Ken Liu, Simone Strasser, Henry C. Pleass, Michael D. Crawford, Carlo Pulitano, Jerome M. Laurence
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2026
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author Charles Thomas
Patrick O'Regan
Sara Shahrestani
Ken Liu
Simone Strasser
Henry C. Pleass
Michael D. Crawford
Carlo Pulitano
Jerome M. Laurence
author_facet Charles Thomas
Patrick O'Regan
Sara Shahrestani
Ken Liu
Simone Strasser
Henry C. Pleass
Michael D. Crawford
Carlo Pulitano
Jerome M. Laurence
Charles Thomas
Patrick O'Regan
Sara Shahrestani
Ken Liu
Simone Strasser
Henry C. Pleass
Michael D. Crawford
Carlo Pulitano
Jerome M. Laurence
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Demand, Waitlisting and Transplantation Around the World: The Axiomatic View of Scarcity in Liver Transplantation Charles Thomas Patrick O'Regan Sara Shahrestani Ken Liu Simone Strasser Henry C. Pleass Michael D. Crawford Carlo Pulitano Jerome M. Laurence Clinical Transplantation ABSTRACT Introduction Liver transplantation (LT) significantly improves survival and quality of life for patients with end‐stage liver disease. Whilst it is believed that need for LT vastly exceeds organ supply, quantifying the demand accurately is challenging. The performance metrics of the transplant system, such as waitlist mortality, may be misleading as they capture only patients who are referred, evaluated and listed for LT. Although means of increasing organ availability are available, they have financial costs and may be technically and ethically challenging (such as live donation and normothermic regional perfusion). The imperative to embrace these techniques can be obscured if the waitlist is assumed to be representative of the actual demand for transplantation. Methods An international comparative analysis of transplantation, donation and waitlist outcomes versus measures of demand for LT was performed using publicly available data. Results The comparative analysis revealed no correlation between disease prevalence and waitlist metrics across jurisdictions internationally, suggesting that waitlisting practices are largely independent of actual LT demand and are constrained by other factors. Conclusion Adult LT systems globally are supply driven and uncorrelated to demand, implying that all jurisdictions are unable to meet the demand of their community and are limited by the supply of viable organs. The study underscores the inadequacy of waitlist data in representing true demand and highlights the need for improved data to inform LT policy and practice to improve access to this life‐enhancing and life‐saving treatment. 10.1111/ctr.70508 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1111/ctr.70508
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institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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publisher Wiley
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spellingShingle Demand, Waitlisting and Transplantation Around the World: The Axiomatic View of Scarcity in Liver Transplantation
Charles Thomas
Patrick O'Regan
Sara Shahrestani
Ken Liu
Simone Strasser
Henry C. Pleass
Michael D. Crawford
Carlo Pulitano
Jerome M. Laurence
Clinical Transplantation
Demand, Waitlisting and Transplantation Around the World: The Axiomatic View of Scarcity in Liver Transplantation Charles Thomas Patrick O'Regan Sara Shahrestani Ken Liu Simone Strasser Henry C. Pleass Michael D. Crawford Carlo Pulitano Jerome M. Laurence Clinical Transplantation ABSTRACT Introduction Liver transplantation (LT) significantly improves survival and quality of life for patients with end‐stage liver disease. Whilst it is believed that need for LT vastly exceeds organ supply, quantifying the demand accurately is challenging. The performance metrics of the transplant system, such as waitlist mortality, may be misleading as they capture only patients who are referred, evaluated and listed for LT. Although means of increasing organ availability are available, they have financial costs and may be technically and ethically challenging (such as live donation and normothermic regional perfusion). The imperative to embrace these techniques can be obscured if the waitlist is assumed to be representative of the actual demand for transplantation. Methods An international comparative analysis of transplantation, donation and waitlist outcomes versus measures of demand for LT was performed using publicly available data. Results The comparative analysis revealed no correlation between disease prevalence and waitlist metrics across jurisdictions internationally, suggesting that waitlisting practices are largely independent of actual LT demand and are constrained by other factors. Conclusion Adult LT systems globally are supply driven and uncorrelated to demand, implying that all jurisdictions are unable to meet the demand of their community and are limited by the supply of viable organs. The study underscores the inadequacy of waitlist data in representing true demand and highlights the need for improved data to inform LT policy and practice to improve access to this life‐enhancing and life‐saving treatment. 10.1111/ctr.70508 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Demand, Waitlisting and Transplantation Around the World: The Axiomatic View of Scarcity in Liver Transplantation
topic Clinical Transplantation
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ctr.70508