Study: Technique Could Increase Cadaver Organs Available for Transplant

Researchers reported at the American transplant scientific meeting that they examined records for all brain-dead organ donors from January 2000 to June 2001, and found that hormonal resuscitation drugs had been used to better preserve organs in 584 donors, but had not been used in 8,185.

They said that doctors retrieved an average of 3.8 organs from donors who had received the drugs, and an average of 3.1 organs from donors who had not.

The drug combination, which includes a hydrocortisone bolus and infusions of vasopressin and tri-iodothyronine, is administered after patients have been declared brain dead -- and their families have agreed to donation -- to better preserve the donor's organs until they can be removed.

Each donor is theoretically able to contribute two kidneys, a pancreas, two lungs, a heart, a liver and intestines, although a variety of considerations -- including age of donor and condition of organs -- make it relatively unusal for doctors to retrieve more than four from one donor.

But UNOS researchers suggested that if the average for all donors could be raised to the 3.8 level, the higher rate would have produced 924 more kidneys, 278 hearts, 290 livers, 414 lungs and 456 pancreases for patients on the growing transplant waiting lists.

"There's no reason why it couldn't be used theoretically on every donor," said Dr. H. Myron Kauffman, a UNOS consultant.. "We hope by getting the message out with this presentation that it will be used more widely."