Organ Non-Donors: Can We Predict Them?

Abstract

Introduction: There is a continued need of organs for transplantation. As potential donors become older with more co-morbidities, the number of non-donors (consented patients in whom no organ is recovered) is increasing. This results in disappointment to the families and staff as well as taxing scarce resources. Aim: To describe the profile of non-donors (ND) and compare them to donors(D). Methods: Charts of all consented potential donors for 2009-2011 from LifeLink of Puerto Rico were reviewed. Cases were classified as donors (at least one organ recovered) or non-donors. Donors were further subdivided into single and multiple organ donors for additional analysis. Data collected included gender, age, cause of death, co-morbidities, BMI, smoking history, and reason for becoming a non-donor. Descriptive statistics, Chi square and Odds Ratios (95% CI) were used to compare donors and non-donors. The study was approved by the UPR-MSC Institutional Review Board. Results: There were 370 consented potential donors from 2009-11, of which 275 (74.3%) were donors and 95 (25.7%) were non-donors. Mean ages were 43.6 for donors and 59.5 for non-donors. Male gender was similar in both groups (47.6 vs 47.3%). Non-donors were statistically more likely to be over 60, smokers, have diabetes, hypertension or kidney injury, and have died of a cerebrovascular accident. (Table 1). Comparison of non-donors (95) and single organ donors (67), however, showed no difference between the two groups in any characteristic.[Table 1: Donors vs Non-donors]Conclusion: As suspected, ND were older and sicker. However, as these characteristics were equally frequent in single organ donors, early prediction on the outcome of donation requires special attention to individual circumstances. The recovery of only one organ is justified by the one life saved.