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. 2025 Mar 13;27(1):100102.
doi: 10.1016/j.ccrj.2025.100102. eCollection 2025 Mar.

Organ donation from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventricular assist devices in Victoria, Australia: Characteristics and trends

Viveka K Nainani  1 , Byron Arcia  2 , David Pilcher  1   3   4 , Joshua Ihle  1   3   4 , Arne Diehl  1   3 , Samuel Radford  4   5   6 , Rohit D'Costa  4   7 , Vinodh B Nanjayya  1   3
Affiliations

Organ donation from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventricular assist devices in Victoria, Australia: Characteristics and trends

Viveka K Nainani et al. Crit Care Resusc. .

Abstract

Objective: To describe the characteristics and the trend of organ donation from donors on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or ventricular assist devices (LVAD).

Design: Retrospective, observational, cohort study from June 2014 to June 2021.

Setting: A multicentre study in Victoria, Australia, using DonateLife Victoria databases.

Participants: All patients on ECMO/LVAD were referred to DonateLife for organ donation.

Main outcome measures: Number, proportion, time trend and type of organ donations from the patients on ECMO/LVAD.

Results: There were 78 donor referrals [mean (SD) age 42 (18.8) yrs, 56 (72 %) males] from patients on Veno-arterial ECMO (73 %), Veno-venous ECMO (16 %) or LVAD (6.4 %), of which 37 (47 %) donated. The annual median (IQR) referral and donation rates were 8 (5-10)/year and 4 (3-7)/year, respectively. Medical contraindications were the main reason for declining organ donation [21(51 %)]. Donation after neurological determination of death (DNDD) occurred in 20 (54 %), and donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) in 17 (46 %). The median (IQR) time from admission to referral for donation was longer in DCDD compared to DNDD patients. Eighty-three organs were retrieved from 37 donors (2.24 organs per donor), out of which 68 organs (82 %) were transplanted in 68 recipients. Kidneys were the most common organs retrieved (73 %) and transplanted (79 %).

Conclusion: Organ donation on ECMO/LVAD occurs only in half of the referred patients. Further studies are needed to ascertain the barriers to donations and to assess the long-term outcomes of these donations.

Keywords: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Extracorporeal therapies; Organ donation; Ventricular assist device.

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Conflict of interest statement

David Pilcher declares he is employed as a medical advisor for Donate Life. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CONSORT diagram of patient selection. ECMO- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, VAD- Ventricular assist device.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trend of organ donation referrals in patients receiving ECMO/LVAD from 2014 to 2021 in the state of Victoria. ECMO- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, LVAD- Ventricular assist device.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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