BACKGROUND The degree of involvement by the next-of-kin in deceased organ procurement worldwide is unclear. We investigated the next-of-kin's authority in the procurement process in nations with either explicit or presumed consent. METHODS We collected data from 54 nations, 25 with presumed consent and 29 with explicit consent. We characterized the authority of the next-of-kin in the decision...

As THE NEED for extrarenal organs increases, surgeons normally responsible for the procurement and later use of kidneys will find themselves more frequently involved in the harvest of other organs, such as the liver. The procurement of kidneys in this country has become regionalized, whereas the transplantation of livers has remained geographically centralized to only a very few institutions. O...

INDIVIDUALS OFTEN DECLINE TO SIGN ORGAN DONOR cards out of fear that their organs will be procured prematurely. To reassure these individuals, procurement policy in the United States allows adults’ organs to be procured only after their deaths or, in the case of nonvital organs, with their consent. Despite these limitations on the procurement of adults’ organs, many individuals still decline to...

More than 100,000 individuals are on the waiting list to receive a lifesaving transplant, but many of them will not receive the organ they need. Legislation has been passed to support organ donation--the current organ procurement system in the United States is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1968 and the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984--but a shortage of donated organs rema...

Organ donation after cessation of circulation and respiration, both controlled and uncontrolled, has been proposed by the Institute of Medicine as a way to increase opportunities for organ procurement. Despite claims to the contrary, both forms of controlled and uncontrolled donation after cardiac death raise significant ethical and legal issues. Identified causes for concern include absence of...

In 2008, responding to a widening gap between need and availability of transplant organs, Israel's Ministry of Health adopted a program of incentivized cadaveric organ donation. The Organ Transplant Law rewards individuals with prioritized access to organs on the condition that they participate in procurement efforts. Priority is awarded in the form of additional points allocated to the individ...

Organ donation has always been a part of the Joint Commission’s commitment to health care quality. In the 2004 hospital standards, JCAHO has continued to promote organ donation and cooperative organ procurement practices. Through its hospital accreditation standards, JCAHO has placed responsibility for organ donation squarely in the lap of hospital leadership. Standard LD.3.110 states that a ho...

The authors estimated the supply of organ donors in the U.S. and also according to organ procurement organizations (OPOs). They estimated the number of donors in the U.S. to be 16,796. Estimates of the number of potential donors for each OPO were used to calculate the level of donor efficiency (actual donors as a percent of potential donors). Overall, donor efficiency for OPOs was 35 percent; t...