Alpha code. The start of a new non-heart beating donor program

Objective: To present the preliminary results of a non-heart beating donor (NHBD) program in a city of under 500,000 inhabitants.

Design: A prospective observational study was conducted between 2010 and 2011.

Setting: Virgen de las Nieves Hospital and metropolitan area of Granada (Spain).

Population: NHBD and brain dead donors (BDD) in the province of Granada during 2010 and 2011.

Study variables: Characteristics of NHBD, out- and in-hospital times, family and legal refusals, preservation methods, and family information procedure. Organs: reasons for organ non-validness, and harvested and transplanted organs. Recipients: hemodialysis sessions and creatinine at discharge. BDD: number of real donors (RD) and of kidney transplants.

Results: Among the BDD there were 102 RD and 104 kidney transplants were carried out. In asystole, 22 potential donors, 21 eligible donors, 20 RD and 13 used donors were registered. The mean age among the RD was 50 years (range 33-62)(16 males and 4 females). Twenty-one kidney and two liver transplants from NHBD were performed. There were a number of reasons for organ non-validness. The mean number of post-transplantation hemodialysis sessions was 1.4 (range 0-6). The mean hospital stay was 25 days (range 14-41), and the mean creatinine concentration at discharge was 3.4mg/dl (range 1.5-6.4). There was one family rejection and no legal (court-ruled) rejections. The preservation methods and family information procedure are described.

Conclusions: The preliminary results support the development of NHBD programs in cities with under 500,000 inhabitants. In 2011, NHBD accounted for 20.19% of the kidney transplants and 19.60% of the global organ donations in the province of Granada.