Intravenous Immunoglobulins after Liver Transplantation: new insights in mechanisms of action

The principal concept of organ transplantation is the replacement of a diseased organ with a healthy one from another individual. In recent decades, transplantation has saved the lives of thousands of people who otherwise were condemned to death because of their life-threatening diseases. Currently, liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for both acute and chronic liver failure. The first successful transplantation of a liver in human was performed by Thomas Starzl in 1967 1. In 1983 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) declare liver transplantation as an accepted therapy for end-stage liver disease 2. From the last two decades, most important indications for liver transplantation in Europe were cirrhosis (58%), cancer (13%), cholestatic diseases (11%) and acute hepatic failure (9%). Survival is excellent both in short term and long term transplant patients, with patient survival rates of approximately 81% one year after surgery, and 69% five years after transplantation (source: www.eltr.org).