A Message from Dr. Kang, Founding President of ILTS

Liver transplantation was developed to treat patients with end-stage liver disease with exactly what was needed, a new liver, through an exceptionally straightforward procedure (Thomas Starzl). However, liver transplantation is a complex process with high morbidity and mortality. These problems are associated with a number of inter-related issues: the multiple organ dysfunction often seen in patients with end-stage liver disease, the lengthy sophisticated surgical procedures, the quality of the donor organ, the systemic effects of the anhepatic state, and postoperative complications including graft nonfunction, rejection, infection, and other long-term care related issues.

It was recognized that liver transplantation cannot be handled by a small number of physicians, but rather requires the collective and collaborative participation and expertise of physicians and scientists from diverse fields. As a result, the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) was founded by a group of committed individuals at the liver transplantation meeting in Pittsburgh in 1990. From these initial efforts to the present, the goal of the Society has been to raise the standard of care for patients requiring liver transplantation and to promote education and research by disseminating and exchanging information related to liver transplantation within the medicalcommunity, as well as to the public. This young multidisciplinary society has done a remarkable job of fulfilling its goals through biennial congresses, (the Third in conjunction with LICAGE), its official journal (Liver Transplantation and Surgery), courses with the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and at the American Society of Anesthesiology meetings, and quarterly newsletters. The ILTS Web Page is a natural extension of the Society's function. The ILTS hopes that this page will provide a venue for formal and informal discussions and information exchanges relevant to liver transplantation among ILTS members and other interested parties.

Yoogoo Kang, M.D.
Founding President, ILTS
Department of Anesthesiology
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA