CIRCULATORY DEATH AND DONATION (ALSO REFERRED TO AS CARDIAC DEATH)
Some Organ Donation History
Only a small percentage of hospital deaths are brain deaths. Reliance on donation after brain death severely limits organ availability.
Formerly called Non-Heart-Beating Donation (NHBD), Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD) has been an end-of-life option for patients and families for more than 30 years. Prior to the introduction of brain death laws, DCD was the way in which all organs were recovered.
Early on, DCD had limitations, such as poor organ function for recipients. Initially, only kidneys could be recovered from DCD donors. Donation after brain death offered better outcomes and the ability to recover and transplant the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and intestines. As a result, donation after brain death became the preferred method of organ recovery and nearly all organ procurement organizations (OPOs) stopped pursuing DCD donors.
However, the shortage of organs available for transplantation created renewed interest in DCD. Improved medications and surgical techniques dramatically improved the outcomes of transplants from DCD donors. All these advances – coupled with the increasing organ shortage – make Donation After Circulatory Death an option for patients and families interested in organ donation.
Only a small percentage of hospital deaths are brain deaths. Reliance on donation after brain death severely limits organ availability.
Formerly called Non-Heart-Beating Donation (NHBD), Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD) has been an end-of-life option for patients and families for more than 30 years. Prior to the introduction of brain death laws, DCD was the way in which all organs were recovered.
Early on, DCD had limitations, such as poor organ function for recipients. Initially, only kidneys could be recovered from DCD donors. Donation after brain death offered better outcomes and the ability to recover and transplant the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and intestines. As a result, donation after brain death became the preferred method of organ recovery and nearly all organ procurement organizations (OPOs) stopped pursuing DCD donors.
However, the shortage of organs available for transplantation created renewed interest in DCD. Improved medications and surgical techniques dramatically improved the outcomes of transplants from DCD donors. All these advances – coupled with the increasing organ shortage – make Donation After Circulatory Death an option for patients and families interested in organ donation.
