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Observational Study
. 2025 Apr;39(4):e70142.
doi: 10.1111/ctr.70142.

Improved Utilization Rate in Solid Organ Donors ≥80 Years: The 7-Year Tuscany Experience

Chiara Lazzeri  1 , Davide Ghinolfi  2 , Lara Entani Santini  3 , Arianna Precisi O Procissi  4 , Daniele Cultrera  5 , Adriano Peris  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Improved Utilization Rate in Solid Organ Donors ≥80 Years: The 7-Year Tuscany Experience

Chiara Lazzeri et al. Clin Transplant. 2025 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Introduction: The Tuscany Region has a quite high annual number of donors per million population (100 donors/pmp (annually)). Considering the increasing donor age and organ shortage, the donation and transplantation community needs to expand procurement and transplants from elderly donors. We assessed the utilization rate in donors aged ≥80 years during the study period (2018-2024) in Tuscany.

Methods: Our retrospective observational study comprised 809 donors aged ≥80 years. We compared Period 1 (from 2018 to 2020, before the COVID pandemic) to Period 2 (from 2021 to 2024, after the COVID pandemic).

Results: cDCD donors significantly increased in Period 2 (0.0001). The utilization rate increased from Period 1 to Period 2 (81.5% vs. 91.7%). In the study period (2018-2024), 377 liver transplants were performed. Overall graft and patient survival at 1, 3, and 5 years when an octogenarian graft was used was 89.4%, 85.0%, 81.8% and 92.5%, 88.7%, 85.5%, respectively. EAD (early allograft dysfunction) was observed in 2.9% of the cases, and IC (ischemic cholangiopathy) developed in 6.3% of the cases. Forty kidneys were transplanted into 22 patients, including 18 dual kidney transplants.

Conclusions: During the 7-year study period, donors aged ≥80 years represented a consistent subgroup, since they accounted for one-third of the overall donor population. The increase in utilization rate observed during the study period may be related to several factors, both in the procurement and the transplant phase.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrial.gov: #NCT04744389.

Keywords: brain death donors; donation after circulatory death; older donors; utilization rate.

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References

    1. CNT Data From Italian Health Ministry 2023, https://www.trapianti.salute.gov.it/trapianti/homeCnt.jsp.
    1. C. Lazzeri, M. Bonizzoli, D. Ghinolfi, et al., “Comorbidities and Age in Brain‐Dead Donors and Liver Transplantation: A 15‐Year Retrospective Investigation,” Experimental and Clinical Transplantation 18, no. 1 (2020): 60–64.
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    1. J. C. Dayoub, F. Cortese, A. Anzic, T. Grum, and J. P. de Magalhães, “The Effects of Donor Age On Organ Transplants: A Review and Implications for Aging Research,” Experimental Gerontology 110 (2018): 230–232.

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