Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests. The study subjects were liver transplant recipients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). All recipients in the current study received a graft harvested in our hospital. The living donor selection process was rigorously performed according to our national and institutional medical and ethical protocols. In South Korea, all living donors should obtain official approval from a national institute named Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS) prior to donation and one of the key national policies is that organ donation is allowed for offspring, spouse, and parents in principle. All of the 40 recipients included in the current study were related to the donors. Informed consent for liver donation was obtained for all living donors prior to donation hepatectomy and LT.