Potential Heart, Liver, and Kidney Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Pediatric organ donation after circulatory determination of death (DCD) has increased in recent years; however, there are few data reporting the number of neonatal potential DCD organ donors and no Canadian-specific reports. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The main objective of this study was to estimate the number of patients who may have become actual DCD organ donors from a single, tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) over 5 years. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We reviewed all medical charts of newborns ≥2.5 kg, who died in our center’s NICU from January 2013 to December 2017. We determined how many could have become actual organ donors after brain death (DBD) or DCD based on 3 sets of organ-specific eligibility criteria defined as conservative, standard, and liberal. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 39 deceased patients, none met the criteria for DBD. Twenty-nine (75%) died after the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies. According to the conservative criteria, 1 patient would have been eligible for kidneys and liver donation. Three patients met standard criteria for kidneys and 1 for liver. Eight patients would have been eligible donors for kidneys, 7 for liver, and 2 for heart according to liberal criteria. Only 2 patients were evaluated for DCD, and no organ donation was performed. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> While uncommon, we identified potential DCD organ donors in the NICU population for kidney, heart, and liver transplants. The substantial variability in the number of potential donors depending on the selected eligibility criteria emphasizes the need for a standardized definition adapted to local capacities.