J Korean Soc Transplant.  1997 May;11(1):157-157.

An Analysis of the Process to Organ Donation in Brain-dead Patients

• Kim MH
• Kim ST
• Lee S
• Cho MH
• Lee KJ
• Choi H
• Yoon YJ

Abstract

Organ procurements were performed in 9 brain-dead patients at our hospital since 1995. They were 7 males and 2 females. The causes of brain death were trauma in 7 patients and CVA in 2 patients. When brain death was confirmed, hypernatremia over 145 mEq/L was showed in 6 and hypothermia in all. Blood transfusion was done in 6 patients for correction of anemia preoperatively. The time intervals from brain death confirmation to organ procurement were from 1 hour to 2 days. Multi-organ harvests were done in 4 patient, 60 year-old female and 2 patients who received the cardioversion before harvest were given up to procure liver and heart preoperatively. And 2 patients were not procured heart and liver because of pathologic findings of intraoperative frozen biopsy. Among 22 recipients, 1 kidney recipient died postoperatively. We conclude that the intensive care should be performed in the brain dead donor for multi-organ harvest and better results of organ transplantations. Beside the organ procurement and transplantation team, another intensive care team for brain dead donor should be composed if possible.

Keyword

Brain death; Organ procurement; harvest; Transplantation

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Biopsy
Blood Transfusion
Brain Death
Critical Care
Electric Countershock
Female
Heart
Humans
Hypernatremia
Hypothermia
Kidney
Liver
Male
Middle Aged
Organ Transplantation
Tissue and Organ Procurement*
Tissue Donors
Transplantation
Transplants