Donation after cardiac death in abdominal organ transplantation.
This article reviews the field of donation after cardiac death, focusing on the history, ethicolegal issues, clinical outcomes, best practices, operative techniques, and emerging strategies to optimize utilization of this resource. Donation after cardiac death is one effective way to decrease the organ shortage and has contributed the largest recent increase in abdominal organ allografts. Currently, donation after cardiac death organs confer an increased risk of ischemic cholangiopathy after liver transplant and of delayed graft function after kidney transplant. As this field matures, risk factors for donation after cardiac death organ transplant will be further identified and clinical outcomes will improve as a result of protocol standardization and ongoing research.
Division of Multi Organ Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA. david.reich@drexelmed.edu
David J
DJ
Reich
Stephen R
SR
Guy
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D003643:Death; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome