Work-load generated by the establishment of a non-heart beating kidney transplant programme.
The work-load generated by a non-heart-beating donor (NHBD) kidney transplant programme over a 3-year period is reported. A total of 73 referrals were made, 64 from the Accident department and 9 from the wards. Organ procurement was performed in 24 cases (33%) and resulted in the retrieval of 44 kidneys. Reasons for failure to achieve organ procurement were; refused consent (n = 13; 18%), relatives unavailable to ask for consent (n = 9; 12%), technical problems with catheter insertion or perfusion (n = 10; 14%), transplant staff unavailable (n = 1; 1%), long asystolic period (n = 8; 11%) and donor unsuitable for other reasons (n = 8; 11%). Of the 44 kidneys retrieved, 30 were transplanted locally, 8 were transplanted at other United Kingdom centres and 6 were discarded. Locally transplanted NHBD kidneys represented 21% of the total transplant programme during the time period under study. We conclude that NHBD kidneys are a good source of additional organs for transplantation, but only one-third of referrals result in a successful procurement procedure. Moreover, the setting up of a successful programme is labour-intensive and requires a highly committed staff.
University Department of Surgery, Leicester General Hospital, UK.
M L
ML
Nicholson
P
P
Dunlop
T M
TM
Doughman
T J
TJ
Wheatley
P C
PC
Butterworth
K
K
Varty
N
N
Lennard
P S
PS
Veitch
P R
PR
Bell
D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D016730:Program Development; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016526:Workload