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Barriers toward organ donation in a Danish University Hospital
Author(s) -
Sørensen P.,
Kousgaard S. J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.12853
Subject(s) - medicine , donation , organ donation , danish , intensive care unit , intracerebral hemorrhage , brain infarction , emergency medicine , intensive care medicine , pediatrics , surgery , transplantation , glasgow coma scale , linguistics , philosophy , ischemia , economics , economic growth
Background In Denmark, organ donation‐rates are below the average in the western countries. We investigated the donor potential and identified barriers toward organ donation in a Danish university hospital. Methods All patients who died in Aalborg University Hospital in 2012 were retrospectively identified. Patients with a CT‐ or MRI‐proven deadly brain‐lesion were eligible for inclusion. Results Eighty‐five patients with deadly brain‐lesions were included, and of these 47 patients died in the intensive care unit (ICU). Older age and diagnosis of brain‐hemorrhage and infarction were associated with admission to general ward (GW). In 62.4% of the patients the potential of becoming a donor was not identified. No donations occurred from patients dying from intracerebral hemorrhage or brain‐infarction although they represented 44.7% of the potential donors. Discussion This study reveals a huge, unrecognized donation potential at our hospital. About 30% was lost because they were never admitted to the ICU. After primary admission to the ICU, 15.3% of the potential donors were lost because they were transferred to the GW. In patients who died in the ICU 17.6% of the patients were not evaluated as potential donors. The relatives refused donation in 17.6% of cases. Conclusion It would be possible to raise the donation rate considerably if patients with donation potential are intubated and admitted to the ICU. When active treatment is considered withdrawn, possibility of organ donation should be evaluated, and the next of kin be approached by experienced staff.