Meeting the Shortage of Human Cells and Tissues: The Andalusian Quality Assurance Programme for Tissue Donation.

Background A quality assurance programme for the tissue donation process was launched in Andalusia in 2020 to facilitate the integration of tissue donation into end-of-life care, and to respond to the growing need for human tissue for therapeutic purposes. The results of this programme are presented here. Methods After identifying the hospital departments in which to intensify the detection of tissue donors, expanding training activities and designing a specific data collection system for possible tissue donors who do not donate their tissues, the results of the donation activity were quantified and the causes of non-donation were analysed by applying the critical pathway for deceased tissue donation methodology. Results After an initial drop in activity, which coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, the number of tissue donors increased by 48.4% in 2022 compared to 2019. From the eligible donors, 83% were actual tissue donors and 71% were utilised donors. The modifiable causes of tissue donation loss, in order of frequency, were family refusal, followed by organisational or logistical issues, failure to notify or failure to identify possible donors, and failure to complete donor evaluation. Conclusion As a result of the collaboration of the various professionals involved in the programme, tissue donation activity has increased remarkably, the potential and effectiveness of the donation process have been evaluated, and areas for improvement have been identified, which we hope will lead to continuous improvement of the process.

Immunomodulation of Oxidative Stress during Organ Donation Process: Preliminary Results.

The objective was to quantify oxidative stress resulting from ischemia during the donation process, using malondialdehyde (MDA) measurement, and its modulation by the administration of melatonin. We designed a triple-blind clinical trial with donors randomized to melatonin or placebo. We collected donors by donation after brain death (DBD) and controlled donation after circulatory death (DCD), the latter maintained by normothermic regional perfusion (NRP). Melatonin or placebo was administered prior to donation or following limitation of therapeutic effort (LTE). Demographic variables and medical history were collected. We also collected serial measurements of MDA, at 60 and 90 min after melatonin or placebo administration. A total of 53 donors were included (32 from DBD and 21 from DCD). In the DBD group, 17 donors received melatonin, and 15 placebo. Eight DCD donors were randomized to melatonin and 13 to placebo. Medical history and cause for LTE were similar between groups. Although MDA values did not differ in the DBD group, statistical differences were observed in DCD donors during the 0-60 min interval: -4.296 (-6.752; -2.336) in the melatonin group and -1.612 (-2.886; -0.7445) in controls. Given the antioxidant effect of melatonin, its use could reduce the production of oxidative stress in controlled DCD.

Medicina intensiva: la columna vertebral del proceso de donación en España / Intensive Care Medicine: The cornerstone of the donation process in Spain

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Trasplante renal con injertos procedentes de donantes en parada cardíaca Maastricht tipo III / Kidney transplantation with grafts from type III Maastricht non-beating-heart donors

El trasplante renal (TR) con riñones de donantes fallecidos en parada cardíaca (PC) está creciendo en nuestro país. La mayoría procede de donantes con los criterios de Maastricht tipo II, si bien en los últimos años el donante fallecido tras limitación de tratamientos de soporte vital (LTSV) es una realidad en algunos países europeos y norteamericanos y constituye el Maastricht tipo III. Se presenta una serie de 6 TR con riñones de donantes fallecidos tras PC como consecuencia de LTSV en tres hospitales del Sector Málaga. Tras consensuar protocolo de actuación en el que la valoración como donante fue siempre posterior a la decisión de LTSV, se planteó a las familias la opción de donación. La preservación de los riñones se realizó mediante sonda de doble balón tipo Porges que se colocó antes de la PC. En dos casos la LTSV se realizó en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos y en el tercero en quirófano. Los tiempos desde inicio LTSV hasta la PC oscilaron entre 15 y 40 minutos, con un tiempo de parada circulatoria antes del inicio de la (..) (AU)

Kidney transplantation (KT) with kidneys from non-beating-heart donors (NBHD) is a growing trend in Spain. The majority of these kidneys come from type II Maastricht patients, although in recent years, organ donations from patients deceased due to cardiac arrest following limitation of life-sustaining therapy has already been in practice in certain European and North American countries, and it involves type III Maastricht patients. We present a series of 6 KT using kidneys from NHBD as a consequence of limitation of life-sustaining therapy in three different hospitals in the sector of Malaga. After agreeing upon a protocol for evaluating the potential of a patient for organ donation, which was always after deciding to limit life-sustaining therapy, the patients' families were given the option of organ donation. Kidneys were preserved using a Porges double balloon catheter, which was placed prior to cardiac arrest. In two cases, the limitation of life-sustaining therapy took place in the intensive care unit, and in the third case, in the operating room. The interval between limitation of life-sustaining therapy and cardiac (..) (AU)

Kidney transplantation with grafts from type III Maastricht non-beating-heart donors.

Kidney transplantation (KT) with kidneys from non-beating-heart donors (NBHD) is a growing trend in Spain. The majority of these kidneys come from type II Maastricht patients, although in recent years, organ donations from patients awaiting cardiac arrest following limitation of life-sustaining therapy has already been in practice in certain European and North American countries, involving type III Maastricht patients. We present a series of 6 KT using kidneys from NHBD as a consequence of limitation of life-sustaining therapy in three different hospitals in the sector of Malaga. After agreeing upon a protocol for evaluating the potential of a patient for organ donation after the decision for limiting life-sustaining therapy, the patients' families were given the option of organ donation. Kidneys were preserved using a Porges double balloon catheter, which was placed prior to cardiac arrest. In two cases, the limitation of life-sustaining therapy took place in the intensive care unit, and in the third case, in the operating room. The interval between limitation of life-sustaining therapy and cardiac arrest ranged between 15 minutes and 40 minutes, with an interval of circulatory arrest prior to perfusion of 5-11 minutes. Perfusion-cooling of the kidneys was initially carried out using saline solution, followed by organ preservation solution (Celsior or Belzer) and extraction of the kidney using a rapid surgical technique. True or functional hot ischaemia times were 60 minutes, 59 minutes, and 50 minutes, respectively, for each of the three donors. Kidneys were evaluated for viability using time intervals for the procedure (including hypotension prior to cardiac arrest), macroscopic appearance, and histopathology of a sample taken from each kidney. The recipients of these 6 kidneys had given their consent to receive organs from expanded-criteria donors. Cold ischaemia lasted between 9 hours and 20 hours (mean: 14.6 hours). One recipient developed haemorrhagic complications during the immediate postoperative period and required a transplantectomy. The other five currently retain functioning grafts. All had delayed graft function, necessitating haemodialysis. The range of estimated glomerular filtration rates at the most recent follow-up evaluation was 23.0-106 ml/min/1.73 m(2). In conclusion, type III Maastricht donors provide valid kidneys for transplantation, although this series showed that supported functional hot ischaemia was very important, the consequence of accumulated ischaemic damage starting in the agonal phase, circulatory arrest, and organ preservation using cold solutions. As such, to improve the quality of results obtained using kidneys from these types of donors would involve a very careful selection of optimal donors and minimisation of total functional ischaemia times.