Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 25;9(2):3797-3802.
doi: 10.19082/3797. eCollection 2017 Feb.

Process and barriers to organ donation and causes of brain death in northeast of Iran

Abdollah Bahrami  1 , Ebrahim Khaleghi  2 , Ali Khorsand Vakilzadeh  3 , Monavar Afzalaghaee  4
Affiliations

Process and barriers to organ donation and causes of brain death in northeast of Iran

Abdollah Bahrami et al. Electron Physician. .

Abstract

Introduction: Organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for some diseases. However, the need for cadaveric organ donation has either plateaued or is on a decreasing trend in some countries, especially in developed ones. In this study, we aimed to identify the barriers to organ donation in brain dead patients, who were referred to the organ procurement organizations (OPO) in northeast Iran.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study during 2006 to 2013, data were collected from medical records of brain dead patients. Demographic information, cause of brain death, the process of obtaining informed consent, and the reasons for declining organ donation were obtained from the OPO records. The data were analyzed using chi-square test by SPSS 13 software.

Results: Of 1034 brain dead patients, 751 cases (72.6%) were eligible for organ donation, and, ultimately, 344 cases underwent organ donation. The rate of organ donation increased during the course of the study; medical and legal reasons as well as family refusal to authorize donation were the main barriers to the process.

Conclusion: Based on the pattern of mortality, the need for living donors in developing countries, such as Iran and other countries in the Mediterranean region, can be reduced by improving the quality of healthcare, efficient identification of brain death, and obtaining consent with appropriate strategies.

Keywords: Brain death; Organ donation; Organ transplant.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of interest to be declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abouna GM. Organ shortage crisis: problems and possible solutions. Transplant Proc. 2008;40(1):34–8. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2007.11.067. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Morris PJ. Transplantation--a medical miracle of the 20th century. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(26):2678–80. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp048256. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Matesanz R, Mahillo B, Alvarez M, Carmona M. Global observatory and database on donation and transplantation: world overview on transplantation activities. Transplant Proc. 2009;41(6):2297–301. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2009.05.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pomfret EA, Sung RS, Allan J, Kinkhabwala M, Melancon JK, Roberts JP. Solving the organ shortage crisis: the 7th annual American Society of Transplant Surgeons’ State-of-the-Art Winter Symposium. Am J Transplant. 2008;8(4):745–52. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2007.02146.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Backer H, Piros L, Langer RM. Increasing living donor kidney transplantation numbers in Budapest. Transplant Proc. 2013;45(10):3678–81. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2013.10.001. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources