Estudio descriptivo de los donantes de órganos en el hospital Torrecardenas de Almería durante el periodo comprendido entre los años 1996-2002 / Descriptive study of organ donors in Torrecárdenas Hospital, Almería, Spain, from 1996 to 2002

ABSTRACT

Organ transplant is the best available treatment in the last stages of failure of most vital organs. The only limiting factor in order to get a bigger development of organ transplantation programs is the lack of brain death donors. The main purpose in the transplant coordination between hospitals is the detection of potential donors in order to generate organs for transplantation. Material and methods: The activity of Transplant Coordination in Torrecárdenas hospital is revised as regards detection of patients with brain death and potential organ donors. Histories of patients diagnosed as having brain death, number of actual donors, medical contraindications and family refusal to organ donation. Results: A total number of 250 patients with brain death was diagnosed. Fifty-eight of them were rejected as potential donors due to medical contraindications and 63 were not donors due to the family refusal. It means 129 actual donors. Main reasons of brain death were cerebral hemorrhage and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Conclusions: In Torrecárdenas Hospital, as it happens in the rest of Andalusian hospitals, a series of changes is taking place regarding features of organ donors. There is an increase in mean age and a gradual change in the etiology of brain death (AU)