From 2001 to 2010, increase seen in pediatric transplantation, decrease in wait-list deaths
MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Changes to organ allocation have helped increase pediatric transplantation and decrease wait-list deaths, according to research published online May 20 in Pediatrics.
Jennifer K. Workman, M.D., from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and colleagues analyzed data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (2001 to 2010). Age, organ, and deceased donor type (donation after circulatory determination of death [DCDD] or donation after neurologic determination of death) was assessed as was information of transplant wait-list removals due to death.
The researchers found that, over the study period, pediatric organ transplant recipients increased from 1,170 to 1,475. While infrequent, the number of organs from DCDD donors transplanted into children increased from one to 31. There was a decrease of 13 percent in pediatric donation after neurologic determination of death, whereas DCDD increased by 174 percent (50 to 137). There was a decrease in receipt of pediatric grafts (3,042 to 2,751), with the number of adults receiving pediatric donor grafts decreasing from 2,243 to 1,780, although the number of children receiving pediatric grafts increased from 799 to 971. Pediatric DCDD grafts received by transplant recipients were few but increased annually from 50 to 128 adults and zero to nine children. There was also a decrease in the number of pediatric candidates dying waiting for an organ (262 to 110).
"Adults primarily receive the direct benefit from pediatric DCDD but other changes in organ allocation have directly benefited children," the authors write.
One author is a consultant for the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance, and has also received royalties from Up To Date.
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