Availability of organs for transplantation: a 15-year overview on organ donation in the ULB network

Introduction

Transplantation of solid organs has become a widely performed and accepted procedure that is mainly restricted by the availability of organs. The gap between the supply of organs and the demand for transplantation is still increasing, resulting in longer waiting times and increased mortality for patients waiting for a transplant.

Method

A retrospective analysis of donor and transplant data charts was conducted over a 15-year period in the ULB network.

Results

From 1990 until now, 1070 potential donors were referred and 508 (47.4%) of them were used for transplantation. During the study period, the mean age of the donors increased from 35 to 48 years, the percentage of trauma as cause of cerebral death decreased from 42% to 20%, the retrieval rate for the abdominal organs (kidney, liver, pancreas) remained stable whereas for the hearts it dropped significantly.

Conclusion

In the ULB network, despite a changing pattern in the organ donors' profile, the availablity of abdominal organs remains constant. The situation in heart donation is alarming.