Harvesting organs for paediatric transplantation: medical features.

The progress in organ transplantation has led to a rise in the demand for organs. Paediatric intensive care units are the main source for obtaining organs. Every "brain dead" patient should be regarded as a potential donor. General contraindications to organ donation are: systemic viral or bacterial infections and extra-cerebral malignancy. They are also organ-specific contraindications. The criteria for the diagnosis of "brain death" have been widely studied and defined. Care of brain dead donors consists of maintenance of cardiac, pulmonary and renal function. Monitoring requires control of central venous and arterial blood pressure, core temperature, urine flow, heart rate and biological data on both urine and blood. A 5% dextrose infusion is maintained with added potassium and sodium chloride according to the urine flow, detectable water loss, and blood and urine composition. Hypotension due to hypovolaemia requires immediate treatment with blood, colloid or albumin infusion. Persistent hypotension with cardiac pump failure is treated with inotropic agents: dopamine and/or dobutamine. Raised urine flow due to diabetes insipidus requires desmopressin (dDAVP). Progress in organ collection requires the consent of the parents and highly motivated medical teams.