Race and Liver Transplantation

Little is known about the effect of race on the outcome of liver transplantation. We retrospectively reviewed a series of 358 recipients of orthotopic liver transplants to address this issue. Black recipients were underrepresented compared with the general population (6% of transplant recipients vs 12% of the population). Black recipients appeared sicker when presenting for transplantation, as evidenced by a higher priority score and a significantly greater incidence of acute and fulminant presentation. Despite this, black recipients had survival rates following transplantation that were not significantly different from those of white recipients; the 1-, 2-, and 3-year actuarial survival rates of blacks were 89.6%, 68.3%, and 68.3%, respectively, while the actuarial survival rates of whites at the same periods were 86%, 82.4%, and 78.6%, respectively. We conclude that blacks can have an outcome equal to whites following liver transplantation but they are underrepresented compared with the general population.