Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yosef Manla, Firas Al Badarin, Nour Bader, Terrence Lee-St John, Mandeep R. Mehra, Feras Bader
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on heart transplant volumes globally and in different countries. Some countries experienced a decrease in volumes, while others maintained or increased their volumes. The decrease in heart transplant volumes was associated with organ donation rates. As the pandemic eased, there was a partial recovery in global heart transplant volumes, but only a few countries were able to reach pre-pandemic levels. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for the differences in heart transplant volumes during the pandemic and to identify policies and practices that can mitigate the impact of similar health crises in the future.
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Tamar Ashkenazi, Avraham Stoler, Eytan Mor
Summary: This study examined the impact of the priority program in the Israeli Transplant Law on waiting list mortality and allocation changes. The results showed that candidates signing a donor card had lower waitlist mortality and higher transplant rates, without significantly affecting access to transplant for other candidates.
Article
Surgery
Mahdi Shadnoush, Marzieh Latifi, Habib Rahban, Elahe Pourhosein, Alireza Shadnoush, Arefeh Jafarian, Sanaz Dehghani
Summary: This article reviews the trends in organ donation in Iran over the past 18 years. The organ donation rate in Iran significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic but started to increase again after the widespread adoption of vaccination. Deceased kidney donation rate increased significantly compared to living kidney donation. Liver and heart transplant rates also showed an increase.
CLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Olivier Aubert, Daniel Yoo, Dina Zielinski, Emanuele Cozzi, Massimo Cardillo, Michael Durr, Beatriz Dominguez-Gil, Elisabeth Coll, Margarida Ivo Da Silva, Ville Sallinen, Karl Lemstrom, Karsten Midtvedt, Camilo Ulloa, Franz Immer, Annemarie Weissenbacher, Natalie Vallant, Nikolina Basic-Jukic, Kazunari Tanabe, Georgios Papatheodoridis, Georgia Menoudakou, Martin Torres, Carlos Soratti, Daniela Hansen Krogh, Carmen Lefaucheur, Gustavo Ferreira, Helio Tedesco Silva, David Hartell, John Forsythe, Lisa Mumford, Peter P. Reese, Francois Kerbaul, Christian Jacquelinet, Serge Vogelaar, Vassilios Papalois, Alexandre Loupy
Summary: The study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on worldwide organ transplantation activities and found an overall decrease in transplant activity in all countries studied. Kidney transplantation was most affected, followed by lung, liver, and heart transplants. There was a marked reduction in transplant activity during the first 3 months of the pandemic, with losses stabilizing after June 2020 but decreasing again from October to December 2020.
LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jason T. Siegel, Maria D. McManus, Danielle R. Blazek, Alexander Marshburn
Summary: This study investigated two rarely used appeals to increase organ donor registration, both of which may have potential negative effects. One appeal highlighted the low probability (three-in-1000) of dying in a way that permits organ donation, which could increase awareness but might also discourage registration. The other appeal emphasized the rising number of registered donors, which could enhance the perception of a norm but may also give an impression that enough people have already registered.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Surgery
Andrew Healey, Marcelo Cypel, Helen Pyle, Caitlin Mills, Jodie Heffren, David Katz, Justin Smith, Robert Teranishi, Susan Lavery, Janice Beitel, Janet MacLean, Dwight Prodger, Shaf Keshavjee, Jonathan C. Yeung
Summary: Donation of lungs following medical assistance in dying at home has shown to be feasible with excellent postoperative outcomes, and should be considered by transplant programs.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Tiyi Morris, Hannah Maple, Sam Norton, Joseph Chilcot, Lisa Burnapp, Heather Draper, Nizam Mamode, Paul McCrone
Summary: End-stage kidney disease is a burden on healthcare systems, with transplantation offering significant benefit over dialysis but facing a shortage of donor kidneys. This article provides an economic perspective on living kidney donation and transplantation, discussing policy recommendations to address supply and demand issues.
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Tamar Schiff, Christian Koziatek, Erin Pomerantz, Nichole Bosson, Robert Montgomery, Brendan Parent, Stephen P. Wall
Summary: The use of ECMO in CPR, called eCPR, has the potential to improve survival with good neurological function after cardiac arrest. ECMO can also be used for enhanced preservation of organs before transplantation. Healthcare networks in Portugal and Italy have developed protocols that integrate eCPR with organ preservation to optimize outcomes. However, the implementation of eCPR and its integration with organ preservation protocols in the US faces ethical, legal, and cultural challenges. Transparent policies, centralized data, uniform practices, and partnership with stakeholders are recommended to address these issues.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katie Wong, Fergus J. Caskey, Anna Casula, Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Pippa Bailey
Summary: Little is known about the clinical demographics and access to transplantation for Chinese diaspora populations with kidney disease. UK Chinese patients are younger at start of KRT, with higher rates of diabetic kidney disease and glomerulonephritis compared to White patients. UK Chinese men have lower odds of pre-emptive transplant and transplant within 3 years of KRT start, while both UK Chinese men and women have markedly lower odds of LDKT compared to Whites. Understanding these disparities will help ensure equitable access to transplantation.
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Eamonn Ferguson
Summary: The study argues that behaviors and motivations of high-cost cooperators, such as blood and organ donors, can provide insights into the mechanisms supporting cooperation. Two novel mechanisms, "reactive reluctant altruism" and the "Good Shepherd" effect, are proposed to enhance cooperation in the face of free-riding. The repeated acts of high-cost cooperation are sustained by a self-selection process based on the reinforcing effect of warm-glow.
CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Saaliha Vali, Benjamin P. Jones, Sairah Sheikh, Srdjan Saso, Isabel Quiroga, J. Richard Smith
Summary: The study found that the general public in the United Kingdom holds a favorable view towards uterus transplantation (UTx) and is willing to donate their uterus after death. However, there is a lack of awareness about UTx among the population, highlighting the need for education.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eunjeong Kang, Jangwook Lee, Sehoon Park, Yaerim Kim, Hyo Jeong Kim, Yong Chul Kim, Dong Ki Kim, Kwon Wook Joo, Yon Su Kim, Insun Choi, Hajeong Lee
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the recognition of live kidney donation among the general population in Korea. The results showed that although the majority of participants understood and were knowledgeable about living donor kidney transplantation, only half of them were willing to donate due to concerns about possible complications. The study also found that most participants agreed on the need for social and economic support for living kidney donors, particularly in terms of surgery-related costs.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Kim Wiebe, Lindsay C. Wilson, Ken Lotherington, Caitlin Mills, Sam D. Shemie, James Downar
Summary: Since 2019, Canadian Blood Services has developed policy guidance for organ and tissue donation after medical assistance in dying (MAiD), and the federal government has made changes to related legislation. This document provides updated guidance for healthcare professionals and policy-makers on the impact of these changes, addressing various topics such as referral, consent, and determination of death.
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Immunology
William A. Werbel, Diane M. Brown, Oyinkansola T. Kusemiju, Brianna L. Doby, Shanti M. Seaman, Andrew D. Redd, Yolanda Eby, Reinaldo E. Fernandez, Niraj M. Desai, Jernelle Miller, Gilad A. Bismut, Charles S. Kirby, Haley A. Schmidt, William A. Clarke, Michael Seisa, Christos J. Petropoulos, Thomas C. Quinn, Sander S. Florman, Shirish Huprikar, Meenakshi M. Rana, Rachel J. Friedman-Moraco, Aneesh K. Mehta, Peter G. Stock, Jennifer C. Price, Valentina Stosor, Shikha G. Mehta, Alexander J. Gilbert, Nahel Elias, Michele Morris, Sapna A. Mehta, Catherine B. Small, Ghady Haidar, Maricar Malinis, Jennifer S. Husson, Marcus R. Pereira, Gaurav Gupta, Jonathan Hand, Varvara A. Kirchner, Avinash Agarwal, Saima Aslam, Emily A. Blumberg, Cameron R. Wolfe, Kevin Myer, R. Patrick Wood, Nikole Neidlinger, Sara Strell, Marion Shuck, Harry Wilkins, Matthew Wadsworth, Jennifer D. Motter, Jonah Odim, Dorry L. Segev, Christine M. Durand, Aaron A. R. Tobian
Summary: This study investigates the clinical, immunologic, and virologic characteristics of HIV-positive organ donors. The findings suggest that the use of HIV-positive donor organs is increasing but the prevalence of HIV drug resistance is relatively low, especially for integrase strand transfer inhibitors.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Letter
Ethics
Johannes Mulder, Hans Sonneveld
Summary: This letter responds to an article on organ donation after euthanasia from home, criticizing factual inaccuracies and expressing concerns about the vision presented. It emphasizes the importance of protecting the autonomy of vulnerable euthanasia patients.
BMC MEDICAL ETHICS
(2023)