Cadaveric organ donor availability: regional trauma center vs. community hospital.
Organ donor shortage is now the greatest limitation to the success of organ transplantation. To assess and compare the role of a regional trauma center in identifying and referring cadaveric organ donors to that of a community hospital, we retrospectively reviewed records of potential cadaveric organ donors during a comparable 5-year period in each. The trauma center (TC) contributed 44 donors, while the community hospital (CH) supplied seven. Five hundred sixty-five possible donors were not harvested at the TC, compared to 126 at the CH. While most "non-donors" from both institutions were not suitable candidates, 8% could have served as good organ donors. Inability to obtain consent was the major obstacle in obtaining good candidates (70% at CH, 83% at TC). Failure to recognize and refer possible donors occurred in 2% of the cases at CH, compared to 0.4% at the TC. We conclude that regional trauma centers can play an important role in alleviating organ donor shortage.
Cheung
A H
AH
Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
Luna
G K
GK
D002423:Cause of Death; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014861:Washington