Herrick-Reynolds KM, Punchhi G, Greenberg RS, et al. - In a small group of patients, following the 6-month rule was not linked to improved patient survival, allograft survival, or relapse-free survival. This research suggests that individuals with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) should not be categorically excluded from liver transplant (LT) based merely on a 6-month abstinence period, but rather alternative selection criteria based on need and post-transplant outcomes should be devised.

• Of the 163 individuals with ALD included in the study, 88 (54%) received early LT and 75 (46%) had standard LT.

• This group had a mean (SD) age of 52 (10) years at transplant and was primarily made up of 108 male patients (66%).

• Early LT recipients were younger (median [interquartile range (IQR)] age, 49.7 [39.0-54.2] years vs 54.6 [48.7-60.0] years) and had a higher median (IQR) Model for End-stage Liver Disease score at listing than standard LT recipients (35.0 [29.0-39.0] vs 20.0 [13.0-26.0]).

• Early and standard LT recipients exhibited equivalent 1-year patient survival, allograft survival, relapse-free survival, and hazardous relapse-free survival.