The Impact of Therapeutic Hypothermia Used to Treat Anoxic Brain Injury After Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation on Organ Donation Outcomes.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is clinically used to improve neurologic outcomes in patients with anoxic brain injury after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). For patients that regress and become organ donors after neurologic determination of death (DNDDs), the impact of TH received before determination of death on organ donation outcomes remains unknown. A prospective observational study of all adult DNDDs that received CPR and had anoxia as a cause of death from March 2013 to December 2014 was conducted across 20 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States.

Therapeutic Hypothermia in Deceased Organ Donors and Kidney-Graft Function.

Background: Delayed graft function, which is reported in up to 50% of kidney-transplant recipients, is associated with increased costs and diminished long-term graft function. The effect that targeted mild hypothermia in organ donors before organ recovery has on the rate of delayed graft function is unclear.

Methods: We enrolled organ donors (after declaration of death according to neurologic criteria) from two large donation service areas and randomly assigned them to one of two targeted temperature ranges: 34 to 35°C (hypothermia) or 36.

The impact of blood transfusions in deceased organ donors on the outcomes of 1,884 renal grafts from United Network for Organ Sharing Region 5.

Background: Historically, strategies to reduce acute rejection and improve graft survival in kidney transplant recipients included blood transfusions (BTs) before transplantation. While advents in recipient immunosuppression strategies have replaced this practice, the impact of BTs in the organ donor on recipient graft outcomes has not been evaluated. We hypothesize that BTs in organ donors after neurologic determination of death (DNDDs) translate into improved recipient renal graft outcomes, as measured by a decrease in delayed graft function (DGF).

The Impact of Hydroxyethyl Starch Use in Deceased Organ Donors on the Development of Delayed Graft Function in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Propensity-Adjusted Analysis.

Our objective was to evaluate the impact of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) use in organ donors after neurologic determination of death (DNDD) on recipient renal graft outcomes. The following data elements were prospectively collected for every DNDD managed by a single organ procurement organization from June 2011 to July 2013: demographics; critical care endpoints; treatments, including the use of HES; graft cold ischemia time (CIT); and the occurrence of recipient delayed graft function (DGF, dialysis in the first week after transplantation). Logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of DGF with a p-value <0.

The impact of meeting donor management goals on the number of organs transplanted per expanded criteria donor: a prospective study from the UNOS Region 5 Donor Management Goals Workgroup.

Importance: The shortage of organs available for transplant has led to the use of expanded criteria donors (ECDs) to extend the donor pool. These donors are older and have more comorbidities and efforts to optimize the quality of their organs are needed.

Objective: To determine the impact of meeting a standardized set of critical care end points, or donor management goals (DMGs), on the number of organs transplanted per donor in ECDs.