title: Living organ donation practices in Europe - results from an online survey.
abstract: In Europe, living organ donation (LOD) is increasingly accepted as a valuable solution to overcome the organ shortage. However, considerable differences exist between European countries regarding frequency, practices and acceptance of donor-recipient relations. As a response, the Coordination Action project 'Living Organ Donation in Europe' (www.eulod.eu), funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission, was initiated. Transplant professionals from 331 European kidney and liver transplant centres were invited to complete an online survey on living kidney donation (LKD) and living liver donation (LLD). In total, 113 kidney transplant centres from 40 countries and 39 liver transplant centres from 24 countries responded. 96.5% and 71.8% performed LKD and LLD respectively. The content of the medical screening of donors was similar, but criteria for donor acceptance varied. Few absolute contraindications for donation existed. The reimbursement policies diverged and the majority of the donors did not get reimbursed for their income loss during recovery. Large discrepancies were found between geographical European regions (the Eastern, the Mediterranean and the North-Western). As a result of this survey we suggest several recommendations to improve quality and safety of LOD in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. annette.lennerling@vgregion.se
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lennerling
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lovén
authors.forename: Frank J M F
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Dor
authors.forename: Frederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ambagtsheer
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duerinckx
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frunza
authors.forename: Assya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pascalev
authors.forename: Willij
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zuidema
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weimar
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dobbels
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D019520:Living Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement