Systematic review on the treatment of deceased organ donors

Abstract

Background: Currently, there is no consensus on which treatments should be a part of standard deceased-donor management to improve graft quality and transplantation outcomes. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of treatments of the deceased, solid-organ donor on graft function and survival after transplantation.

Methods: Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Clinicaltrials.gov were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials that compared deceased-donor treatment versus placebo or no treatment.

Results: A total of 33 studies were selected for this systematic review. Eleven studies were included for meta-analyses on three different treatment strategies. The meta-analysis on methylprednisolone treatment in liver donors (two studies, 183 participants) showed no effect of the treatment on rates of acute rejection. The meta-analysis on antidiuretic hormone treatment in kidney donors (two studies, 222 participants) indicates no benefit in the prevention of delayed graft function. The remaining meta-analyses (seven studies, 334 participants) compared the effects of 10 min of ischaemic preconditioning on outcomes after liver transplantation and showed that ischaemic preconditioning improved short-term liver function, but not long-term transplant outcomes.

Conclusions: There is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that any particular drug treatment or any intervention in the deceased donor improves long-term graft or patient survival after transplantation.

Keywords: Brain death; Deceased donor; Management; Organ; Systematic review; Treatment.