Trauma Registries and Organ Transplantation-Reply

Abstract

In Reply. — We appreciate Dr Evans' interest in trauma registries and his suggestion that registry data could be useful in estimating the size of the potential organ donor pool. Although Evans et al 1 and others 2 have provided point estimates using data abstracted from medical records, organ procurement agencies require ongoing surveillance of the potential and actual donor pools. 3 Trauma registries are used for ongoing surveillance of the quality of trauma care. The expansion suggested by Dr Evans could increase the value of the database, but not all registries are equipped to capture these additional data. A variety of practical obstacles, including insufficient staff and resources, impede the use of many registries for trauma care surveillance. Overcoming these obstacles is of paramount importance if registries are to serve their primary purpose and additional purposes, such as surveillance of potential organ donors. Data fields for the primary and