studies

HEPATOLOGY, VOLUME 62, NUMBER 1 (SUPPL) AASLD ABSTRACTS 641A
872
Traveling for a Liver Transplant in the US does not
Result in a Lower Match MELD for the Majority of
Patients
Catherine T. Frenette 1 , Ann M. Harper 2 , Angeles Baquerizo 1 , Randolph
L. Schaffer 1 , Jonathan S. Fisher 1 , Christopher L. Marsh 1 ;
1 Organ Transplantation, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA; 2 United Network
for Organ Sharing, Richmond, VA
Aim: Given the current geographic disparities in the Unites
States in liver allocation for orthotopic liver transplantation
(OLT), there is a segment of the population that may travel
to a different donor service area other than their home. The
purpose of this study was to determine if patients who traveled
for OLT were more likely to be transplanted at a lower MELD.
Methods: The OPTN database was queried for all patients who
underwent a deceased donor liver transplant from 2010-2014.
Patients with unknown home zip code were excluded (N=340).
Demographic, insurance, transplant, exception status and survival
data were analyzed (N=30,436). Patients who traveled
outside of their home area (Tr) were compared to patients
who underwent OLT at home (NTr). Results: From 2010-2014,
25.6% of patients traveled outside of their home donor service
area (N=7780). Of these patients, 6925 (89%) traveled outside
of their home state. The mean distance traveled was 368
miles for Tr vs 50.3 miles for NTr. There was no difference in
gender between the groups (men 66.9% Tr vs 65.1% NTr).
There was a higher proportion of pediatric patients in the Tr
group (10.2% vs 6.9%, p