Does Intensivist Management of Organ Donors with Death by Neurological Criteria Result in Increased Organ Yield? - Abstract
Objective: To determine whether intensivist management of donors increases the number of organs available for transplantation from organ donors with
death by neurological criteria.
Setting: The Midwest Transplant Network from January 2003 – October 2018.
Interventions:
Intensivist physicians engaged in donor management. Comparison of total number of donors, donor age, and organs transplanted of all organ types before
and after intensivist management. Analysis using ANOVA and 2 sample t-tests used to compare organ donations before and after intensivist management with
a p-value of <0.05 deemed statistically significant.
Results: The number of organs transplanted showed a statistically significant increase after intensivist management for most organs. The number of organs
transplanted increased by 38% (p-value=0.009) and the number of donors increased by 28% (p-value=0.026) following intensivist management. Donor
age was significantly higher post-intensivist management (35.83 ±18.79 vs. 38.89 ± 22.86, p-value=0.0007). The number of organs transplanted per donor
increased significantly after intensivist management (2.76 ± 1.82 vs 2.94 ± 1.89, p-value=0.038).
Conclusion: Our data suggest an increase in organs transplanted per donor may be associated with the involvement of a critical care specialist. Future
research should explore the exact patient-centered implications.