RESUMEN
Aims: In order to minimize damage to DCD (deceased cardiac donors) pancreatic grafts the donor surgery has to proceed as quickly as possible. Because of this previous studies have suggested that organs procured (liver and kidney) from DCD donors have higher discard rates. The aim of this study was to establish whether DCD pancreatic grafts were more likely to be damaged and discarded when compared to conventional DBD (deceased brainstem) pancreatic grafts. Methods: Data was collected retrospectively from pancreatic alone organ offers to our single centre over a 12 month period and analyzed, Simultaneous kidney pancreas (SPK) grafts were excluded. Results: Of 33 pancreas alone offers 15 were DCD’s and 18 were DBD’s. There was no difference in leading cause of death between DCD or DBD donations of which intracranial hemorrhage was the most frequent and Hypoxic brain injury [joint with cardiovascular accidents (CVA) for DBD donations] the next most frequent cause. There was also no difference in BMI between the two groups. For DCD’s the mean donor age was 45.5 years compared with 42.6 years for DBD organs. 6% of all organs were discarded (n=2) because of procurement damage and all were from DBD donors. Of the remaining 31 organs only 6 were transplanted (DBD n=5 to DCD n=1). The leading cause of decline for the remaining 27 organs was donor history for both groups followed by prolonged cold ischemia for DBD’s and other logistical reasons for DCD’s. Procurement damage was the third most common cause of decline for DBD pancreas alone grafts. Conclusions: Although there did not appear to be a higher incidence of pancreatic graft damage when the organ was retrieved from a DCD donor in comparison to DBD donors, there are still organs being discarded because of procurement damage. Enhanced training techniques/supervision during the retrieval process still need to be optimised to reduce organ discard rates even further so no organs are ever wasted because of procurement damage.
RESUMEN
Termites (Order: Isoptera) constitute an integral component of various ecosystems in Africa. Termites are also amongst the most difficult insects to study because of their cryptic behaviour and natural nesting habitat. There are around 2600 species of termites in 280 genera which have been described worldwide and about 39% of the total termite species are found in Africa. Termite identification is crucial to understanding termite distribution and their relationship to climate change. Some termite species are well known pests of agricultural crops, forest trees, wood products and timber-in-service causing considerable damage in Africa. This review paper attempts to collate information on African termite distribution and climate change and highlights some knowledge gaps. Africa is the origin of the termite family of Macrotermitinae. The paper focuses more on economically important termite species in Africa. The use of traditional identification methods coupled with molecular techniques in resolving some of the challenges in termite distribution with particular reference to climate change in Africa are discussed. There is scant information on published literature on the impact of climate change on termites with particular reference to termite distribution in Africa. However there is anectodal evidence to suggest that African termite species will be affected by changes in the local and global climate.