Auxiliary liver transplantation： Opportunities and challenges in improving donor liver utilization rate

Aishanjiang AIZIMANTI; Kai ZHONG; Tulahong ALIMU; Qiang GUO; Ruiqing ZHANG; Aji TUERGANAILI

doi:10.12449/JCH260633

Volume 42 Issue 6

Jun. 2026

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Article Navigation > Journal of Clinical Hepatology > 2026 > 42(6): 1462-1468

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Auxiliary liver transplantation： Opportunities and challenges in improving donor liver utilization rate

DOI: 10.12449/JCH260633

Aishanjiang AIZIMANTI¹,
Kai ZHONG^{1, 2},
Tulahong ALIMU^{1, 2},
Qiang GUO^{1, 2},
Ruiqing ZHANG^{1, 2},
Aji TUERGANAILI^{1, 2
,
,
,}

1.
Department of Hepatobiliary and Echinococcosis Surgery，Digestive & Vascular Surgery Center，The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University，Urumqi 830013，China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis，Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia Co-founded by Province and Ministry，Xinjiang Medical University，Urumqi 830013，China

Research funding:

“Tianshan Talents” Training Plan Leading Talents in Scientific and Technological Innovation (2022TSYCLJ0034)

Received Date: 2025-12-04
Accepted Date: 2026-01-16
Published Date: 2026-06-25

Abstract

Abstract

Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for end-stage liver disease， but it has long been limited by the shortage of donor livers. In clinical practice， three types of donor liver （domino donor livers， small-for-size grafts， and steatotic donor livers） are limited due to issues such as metabolic defects， insufficient volume， and poor quality. This article systematically reviews the definition， clinical application， and bottlenecks of the above three types of donor livers and elaborates on the unique value and clinical practice advances of auxiliary liver transplantation （a special surgical procedure that retains part or all of the recipient’s own liver and superimposes donor liver function support） in avoiding small-for-size syndrome， compensating for metabolic defects， and expanding the application of marginal livers， in order to provide a targeted clinical practice reference for optimizing liver transplantation strategies for end-stage liver disease and improving donor liver utilization rate.
- Liver Transplantation,
- Domino Liver Transplantation,
- Auxiliary Liver Transplantation,
- Marginal Liver

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References

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Auxiliary liver transplantation： Opportunities and challenges in improving donor liver utilization rate

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