Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether hospital characteristics affect institutional performance with regard to organ donation. We sought to determine which hospital- and patient-level characteristics are associated with high organ donor conversion rates after brain death (DBD). METHODS: Data were extracted from the regional Organ Procurement Organization (2011-2014) and other sources. Hospitals were stratified into high-conversion hospitals (HCH; upper-tertile) and low-conversion hospitals (LCH; lower-tertile) according to conversion rates. Hospital- and patient-characteristics were compared between groups. RESULTS: There were 564 potential DBD donors in 27 hospitals. Conversion rates differed between hospitals in different states (p < 0.001). HCH were more likely to be small (median bed size 194 vs. 337; p = 0.024), non-teaching hospitals (40% vs. 88%; p = 0.025), non-trauma center (30% vs. 77%; p = 0.040). Potential donors differed between HCH and LCH in race (p < 0.01) and mechanism of injury/disease process (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: There is significant variation between hospitals in terms of organ donor conversion rates. This suggests that there is a pool of potential donors in large specialized hospitals that are not successfully converted to DBD.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.amjsurg.2017.03.032

Type

Journal article

Journal

Am j surg

Publication Date

10/2017

Volume

214

Pages

757 - 761

Keywords

Athorization rate, Authroization rate, Conversion rate, DCD, Donor, Donor after brain death, Hospital characteristics, Hospital performance, Organ donation, Transplant center, Trauma center, Brain Death, Female, Hospital Administration, Humans, Male, New England, Tissue Donors, Tissue and Organ Procurement