Organ donation from brain-dead pediatric donors in Korea: A 5-year data analysis (2013-2017).

In Korea, 2-4% of brain-dead organ donations are from donors <16 years of age. We aimed to identify the current status of and challenges in pediatric organ donation from brain-dead donors in Korea. We performed a retrospective analysis using data from KONOS between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017. Our research identified 107 pediatric donors aged <16 years, representing 4.4% of all donors in Korea between 2013 and 2017. The consent rate was higher in PDs than in adult donors (47.0% vs 44.9%). The most common cause of brain death in PDs was hypoxia (28.0%), followed by brain tumor and trauma, whereas that in ADs was brain hemorrhage/stroke (42.4%), followed by trauma and hypoxia (P < .001). In both groups, the kidney (PDs vs ADs: 75.7% vs 88.5%), liver (58.9% vs 46.2%), and heart (32.7% vs 29.7%) were the organs most commonly transplanted. However, pancreatic (PDs vs ADs: 30.0% vs 11.7%, P < .001) and small bowel transplantations (4.7% vs 0.2%, P < .001) were more common in PDs, whereas lung (7.5% vs 14.5%, P = .046) and corneal transplantations (14.0% vs 36.2%) were more common in ADs. Only a small proportion of organ donations in Korea are from PDs, but this rate has been maintained. Given the current status of brain-dead pediatric organ donation, a more active approach is required to bring about improvement.

Causes of Failure during the Management Process from Identification of Brain-Dead Potential Organ Donors to Actual Donation in Korea: a 5-Year Data Analysis (2012-2016).

BACKGROUND: This retrospective study analyzed the causes of failure in the management process from the identification of brain-dead potential organ donors to actual donation in Korea over the past 5 years. METHODS: Data of 8,120 potential brain deaths reported to the Korea Organ Donation Agency were used, including information received at the time of reporting, donation suitability evaluation performed by the coordinator after the report, and data obtained from interviews of hospital medical staff and the donor's family. RESULTS: From January 2012 to December 2016, the total number of brain-dead potential organ donors in Korea was 8,120, of which 2,348 (28.9%) underwent organ procurement surgery with designated recipients. While the number of transplant donors has increased over time, the ratio of transplant donors to medically suitable brain-dead donors has decreased. The common causes of donation failure included donation refusal (27.6%), non-brain death (15.5%), and incompatible donation (11.6%); 104 potential donors (7.8%) were unable to donate their organs because they were not pronounced brain dead. CONCLUSION: The rate of successful organ donation may be increased by analyzing the major causes of failure in the brain-dead organ donation management process and engaging in various efforts to prevent such failures.