Identifying potential kidney donors among newborns undergoing circulatory determination of death.

Background: Over 96,000 patients await kidney transplantation in the United States, and 35,000 more are wait-listed annually. The demand for donor kidneys far outweighs supply, resulting in significant waiting list morbidity and mortality. We sought to identify potential kidney donors among newborns because en bloc kidney transplantation donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) may broaden the donor pool.

Identifying potential heart donors among newborns undergoing circulatory determination of death.

Background: Infants younger than 1 year old have the highest heart transplant wait-list mortality. Transplantation from donors after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) is an innovative new option for these patients. We examined the potential for heart donation in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients undergoing elective withdrawal of life support.