969-100 Changing Profile of the Cardiac Donor

Abstract

As the demand for organs for cardiac transplantation has increased, donor criteria have evolved. We reviewed the characteristics of 190 cardiac donors from 1983 to 1993 to identify trends in donor profile and to determine if recipient outcome were affected. Donors were divided into early(1983–1987; n=86) and late (1988-1993; n=104) groups according to operative era, While mean donor age has not changed significantly (24 ± 0.9 to 26 ± 1.3 years), the proportion of donors older than 40 years has increased from 1% (1/86) to 15% (16/104) (p<0.001). Trauma was the cause of death in 93% (80/86) of the early group and 65% of the late group (68/104) (p<0.001); in the total series, donors older than 40 years were less likely to have died from trauma 131%; 5/16) than younger donors (83%; 143/173) (p=0.001). The proportion of out-of-state donors has fallen from 71% (61/86) to 27% (28/104) (p<0.001), while the proportion of ethnic minorities increased from 10% (9/86) to 25% (26/1041 (p<0.001). There have been no significant changes in gender profile; males constituted 78% (67/86) of the early group and 72% (75/104) of the late group. Five year survival after transplant was not predicted by donor age, mode of donor death, recipient age, or recipient UNOS status. In summary, donors in the current era are more likely (1) to be older, (2) to be within the state, (3) to come from an ethnic minority, and (4) to have died from causes other than trauma when compared to donors from the earlier era.