Syn, Nicholas L. X.

The 2025 Annual Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS), themed “ Advancing Liver Transplantation: Embracing Innovation for the Future ,” was held from May 28 to 31 in Singapore. The meeting offered a comprehensive scientific program, featuring 92 sessions and 7 pre-congress workshops spanning living donor liver transplantation, advanced surgery, anesthesia and critical care, transplant oncology and immunology, basic science, pediatrics, and more. The program emphasized collaboration and innovation to advance patient outcomes in liver transplantation. In this report, the ILTS Vanguard Committee summarizes the key proceedings of the congress.

Living liver donation is a critical component for addressing organ shortage and improving outcomes for patients with end-stage liver disease. As the prevalence of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) increases worldwide, understanding and optimizing long-term donor health is paramount. The 2025 International Liver Transplantation Society and International Living Donor Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS-iLDLT) Consensus Conference convened experts in the field of liver transplantation to establish evidence-based guidelines focused on the long-term medical, psychological, and social considerations following living liver donation. The aim of this working group was to integrate current evidence and expert consensus on donor follow-up protocols, risk assessment, and management strategies to promote long-term donor health, quality of life, and living liver donor programs globally to safeguard the welfare of this unique population.

The 2024 Annual Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) was from May 1–4 in Houston, Texas, USA, under the theme “Liver Disease and Transplantation: Breaking Barriers and Exploring New Frontiers.” In addition to a robust scientific program, the congress also hosted a hands-on cadaveric robotic liver surgery course, a machine perfusion workshop, and a transesophageal echocardiography course. In this report, the ILTS Vanguard and Basic Sciences Committees present a summary of the congress proceedings.

The 2023 Joint International Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS), the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association (ELITA), and the Liver Intensive Care Group of Europe (LICAGE) held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, marked a significant recovery milestone for the liver transplant community after COVID-19. With 1159 participants and a surge in abstract submissions, the event focused on “Liver Disorders and Transplantation: Innovations and Evolving Indications.” This conference report provides a comprehensive overview of the key themes discussed during the event, encompassing Hepatology, Anesthesia and Critical Care, Acute Liver Failure, Infectious Disease, Immunosuppression, Pediatric Liver Transplantation, Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Transplant Oncology, Surgical Approaches, and Machine Perfusion. The congress provided a platform for extensive discussions on a wide range of topics, reflecting the continuous advancements and collaborative efforts within the liver transplant community.

The scarcity of liver grafts has prompted developments in living donor liver transplantations (LDLT), with previous literature illustrating similar outcomes in recipients compared to deceased donor transplants. However, significant concerns regarding living donor morbidity and mortality have yet to be examined comprehensively. This study aims to provide estimates of the incidence of various outcomes in living liver donors. In this meta-analysis, Medline and Embase were searched from inception to July 2022 for articles assessing the incidence of outcomes in LDLT donors. Complications in the included studies were classified into respective organ systems. Analysis of incidence was conducted using a generalized linear mixed model with Clopper-Pearson intervals. Eighty-seven articles involving 60,829 living liver donors were included. The overall pooled incidence of complications in LDLT donors was 24.7% (CI: 21.6%–28.1%). The incidence of minor complications was 17.3% (CI: 14.7%–20.3%), while the incidence of major complications was lower at 5.5% (CI: 4.5%–6.7%). The overall incidence of donor mortality was 0.06% (CI: 0.0%–0.1%) in 49,027 individuals. Psychological complications (7.6%, CI: 4.9%–11.5%) were the most common among LDLT donors, followed by wound-related (5.2%, CI: 4.4%–6.2%) and respiratory complications (4.9%, CI: 3.8%–6.3%). Conversely, cardiovascular complications had the lowest incidence among the subgroups at 0.8% (CI: 0.4%–1.3%). This study presents the incidence of post-LDLT outcomes in living liver donors, illustrating significant psychological, wound-related, and respiratory complications. While significant advancements in recent decades have contributed towards decreased morbidity in living donors, our findings call for targeted measures and continued efforts to ensure the safety and quality of life of liver donors post-LDLT.

Background. When a partial liver graft is unable to meet the demands of the recipient, a clinical phenomenon, small-for-size syndrome (SFSS), may ensue. Clear definition, diagnosis, and management are needed to optimize transplant outcomes. Methods. A Consensus Scientific committee (106 members from 21 countries) performed an extensive literature review on specific aspects of SFSS, recommendations underwent blinded review by an independent panel, and discussion/voting on the recommendations occurred at the Consensus Conference. Results. The ideal graft-to-recipient weight ratio of ≥0.8% (or graft volume standard liver volume ratio of ≥40%) is recommended. It is also recommended to measure portal pressure or portal blood flow during living donor liver transplantation and maintain a postreperfusion portal pressure of <15 mm Hg and/or portal blood flow of <250 mL/min/100 g graft weight to optimize outcomes. The typical time point to diagnose SFSS is the postoperative day 7 to facilitate treatment and intervention. An objective 3-grade stratification of severity for protocolized management of SFSS is proposed. Conclusions. The proposed grading system based on clinical and biochemical factors will help clinicians in the early identification of patients at risk of developing SFSS and institute timely therapeutic measures. The validity of this newly created grading system should be evaluated in future prospective studies.

After a virtual congress in 2021 and a previous absence in 2020 because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the 27th Annual Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society was held from May 4 to 7, 2022, in a hybrid format in Istanbul, with 1123 (58% on-site) liver transplant professionals from 61 countries attending the meeting. The hybrid format successfully achieved a balance of much yearned-for “in-person interaction” and global online participation. Almost 500 scientific abstracts were presented. In this report, the Vanguard Committee aims to present a summary of key invited lectures and selected abstracts for the liver transplant community.