Heart donation and transplant recipient survival outcomes from deceased organ donors managed in hospital-based vs independent donor care units.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite growing prevalence, the impact of centralized deceased organ donor care units on heart donation and transplant recipient outcomes remains unknown.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study using Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network deceased donor and transplant recipient data. We included adult deceased organ donors after brain death managed in 21 US regions with donor care units (DCUs) January 2019 to December 2022 and their heart recipients. The primary exposure was organ recovery in independent vs hospital-based DCUs. Outcomes included heart graft survival duration (primary) and incidence of heart donation.

Results

The cohort captured 9,830 donors after brain death, 3,302 in 10 independent DCUs (33.6%), and 1,366 (13.9%) in 11 hospital-

SUBMITTER: Ho FY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12303759 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature