Andrés Cárdenas, M.D., and Pere Ginès, M.D.

Liver transplantation is widely accepted as a standard method of treatment for many patients with advanced cirrhosis, and survival rates among patients who have undergone liver transplantation approach 80% at 3 years.1 These success rates, together with a high prevalence of chronic liver diseases and a shortage of donors, have led to a steady increase in the number of patients awaiting liver transplantation. More than 16,000 patients in the United States are on the waiting list, and approximately 6000 liver transplantations are performed each year.2 With this striking imbalance, the rate of death among patients on the waiting list has . . .

N Engl J Med 359:1060, September 4, 2008 Editorial