BACKGROUND: Organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) is not optimal but still remains a valuable source of organ donation in trauma donors. The aim of this study was to assess national trends in DCD from trauma patients. METHODS: A 12-year (2002 to 2013) retrospective analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing database was performed. Outcome measures were the following: proportion of DCD donors over the years and number and type of solid organs donated. RESULTS: DCD resulted in procurement of 16,248 solid organs from 8,724 donors. The number of organs donated per donor remained unchanged over the study period (P = .1). DCD increased significantly from 3.1% in 2002 to 14.6% in 2013 (P = .001). There was a significant increase in the proportion of kidney (2002: 3.4% vs 2013: 16.3%, P = .001) and liver (2002: 1.6% vs 2013: 5%, P = .041) donation among DCD donors over the study period. CONCLUSIONS: DCD from trauma donors provides a significant source of solid organs. The proportion of DCD donors increased significantly over the last 12 years.
BACKGROUND: Organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) is not optimal but still remains a valuable source of organ donation in trauma donors. The aim of this study was to assess national trends in DCD from traumapatients. METHODS: A 12-year (2002 to 2013) retrospective analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing database was performed. Outcome measures were the following: proportion of DCD donors over the years and number and type of solid organs donated. RESULTS:DCD resulted in procurement of 16,248 solid organs from 8,724 donors. The number of organs donated per donor remained unchanged over the study period (P = .1). DCD increased significantly from 3.1% in 2002 to 14.6% in 2013 (P = .001). There was a significant increase in the proportion of kidney (2002: 3.4% vs 2013: 16.3%, P = .001) and liver (2002: 1.6% vs 2013: 5%, P = .041) donation among DCD donors over the study period. CONCLUSIONS:DCD from trauma donors provides a significant source of solid organs. The proportion of DCD donors increased significantly over the last 12 years.