Changing kidney allocation policy in France: the value of simulation.

This paper advocates the value of simulation to promote changes in kidney allocation. Due to the scarcity of organs and to the competition between transplantation centers to obtain the best organs for their patients, any change in organ allocation policy remains a sensitive issue in public health decision-making. Organ allocation is not easily available for prospective experimental study.

[Organ and tissue shortage in France].

Introduction: Despite an increase in the number of brain deaths over the past 10 years, France faces a shortage of organs for transplantation. A high percentage of families oppose organ donation. Over the past decade, the mean age of organ donors has risen by 10 years.

[Inequalities to the access of renal transplantation for French patients living in the overseas French territories].

This study explored the access to the French national renal transplantation waiting list and the waiting time before transplantation for the patients with ESRD on dialysis living in the FOT. Overseas health authorities gave data on ESRD incidence and prevalence. Data on patients registered between 1997 and 2000 were extracted from the French national waiting list (390 patients from the FOT and 9378 from continental France).

A survey on patients admitted in severe coma: implications for brain death identification and organ donation.

Objective: To identify factors to improve the identification of brain dead patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

Design And Setting: Prospective study conducted in 79 ICUs in 54 hospitals.

Patients: All hospitalized patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score less than 8.

Seroprevalence of human herpes virus 8 antibody in populations at high or low risk of transfusion, graft, or sexual transmission of viruses.

Background: The routes of transmission of human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) remain unclear. In particular, HHV-8 transmission by blood components and organ transplantation is still debated and raises public health issues. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-HHV-8 in selected populations of persons or patients with or without risk factors for the transmission of viral infections, in order to determine the routes of HHV-8 transmission.