Organ donation after self‐inflicted injury: A single institution analysis

• Published in: Clinical transplantation Vol. 36; no. 7; pp. e14679 - n/a
• Main Authors: Meyer, Courtney H., Grant, April A., Enofe, Nosayaba, Matey, Andrew, Frankinburger, Emil, Sola, Richard, Nguyen, Jonathan, Andrade, Ivan F. Pradilla, Veselsky, Steven L., Sciarretta, Jason, Williams, Keneeshia N., Kim, Steven, Smith, Randi N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark 01.07.2022
• Subjects: Adult; deceased; disparities; donors and donation; Female; Humans; Male; Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN); Organ Transplantation; patient characteristics; Referral and Consultation; Retrospective Studies; Tissue and Organ Procurement; Tissue Donors; United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS); disparities; patient characteristics; Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN); deceased; United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS); donors and donation
• ISSN: 0902-0063; 1399-0012
• DOI: 10.1111/ctr.14679

Background This study sought to determine the contribution of self‐inflicted injury‐related deaths to local organ donation rates and analyze contributing factors. Methods A retrospective review of adult patients with traumatic self‐inflicted injuries was performed at a Level I trauma center from 2013 to 2017. Data were obtained from the institutional trauma registry and cross‐referenced with the local organ procurement organization (OPO). Referral rates were analyzed and outcomes, demographics and injury characteristics were compared between patients who underwent donation versus those who did not. Results 142 adult patients presented with traumatic self‐inflicted injury, and 100 (70.4%) had referral calls made to the local OPO. These patients were predominantly male (83%), and gunshot injuries accounted for 75% of all mechanisms. Sixty‐four percent had organ referrals versus tissue referrals (34%), and 17 (26.6%) of those patients went on to donate. The median number of organs procured was 4 [IQR 0‐5]. In multivariate analysis, for each year increase in age, patients were less likely to have an organ referral (OR = .96 [95% CI .93–.99]; p = .0134) and less likely to undergo donation (OR = .95 [95% CI .90–.99]; p = .0308). Conclusions Self‐inflicted injury, though tragic, may provide a significant contribution to the limited organ donor registry.