Surgeons oppose liver transplant rules

TORONTO, June 8 (UPI) -- Federal rules in the United States regarding liver transplants need to be changed, surgeons at a Toronto conference say.

Surgeons at the annual American Transplant Congress suggest regulations covering liver transplants should be altered to ensure patients receive them when medically appropriate, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Sunday.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Pomfret, a United Network for Organ Sharing official, said the current system of basing liver transplants on patients' conditions rather than post-surgery life expectancies should be reconsidered.

"We are concerned," the head of the agency's liver and intestinal organ transplantation committee said. "The new challenge is, can we improve upon the current allocation system? I think it's very possible that we could."

UNOS officials are responsible for managing the U.S. transplant system and the Tribune-Review said some patients have received livers when waiting for a transplant would have given them better survival odds.

The newspaper said one surgeon suggested some medical centers conduct the procedures when unnecessary to benefit from marketplace incentives.