Lecture 21: Organ Donation

Question 1

what organs can be donated?

Answer 1

• kidneys
• liver
• heart
• lungs
• pancreas
• small bowel

Question 2

what tissue can be donated?

Answer 2

• corneas
• heart valves
• tendons
• skin
• bone
• arteries

Question 3

what are the exclusion criteria for being an organ donor?

Answer 3

• active invasive cancer in the last 3 years
• haematological malignancy
• untreated systemic infection
• variant CJD
• HIV disease (but not infection)
• other criteria apply to individual organs

Question 4

what is a pre-death procedure?

Answer 4

• a medical procedure carried out for the purpose of facilitating transplantation and is not a procedure that supports the patient’s health.
• can only be carried out when death is considered to be imminent and after the decision to withdraw life sustaining treatment is made.

Question 5

what is the death by neurological criteria (DNC)?

Answer 5

• when a patient has suffered irreversible loss of brain function so that they will not regain consciousness or be able to breathe independently, but is on artificial life support.
• confirmed by neurological testing (previously known as brainstem testing)

Question 6

donation after cardiac death (DCD) criteria

Answer 6

• when life sustaining therapy is withdrawn and the patient ceases to be alive confirmed by standard testing - heart stops, no respiratory effort
• timing is critical here

Question 7

what is the maximum tolerated warm ischaemia time for the kidneys, liver, pancreas, lungs and heart?

Answer 7

• kidneys: 120 minutes
• liver: 30 minutes
• pancreas: 30 minutes
• lungs: 60 minutes
• heart: new process