DOD
OPTN/SRTR 2016 Annual Data Report: Deceased Organ Donation
Abstract
SRTR uses data collected by OPTN to calculate metrics such as donation rate, organ yield, and rate of organs recovered for transplant but not transplanted. In 2016, 1,072,717 death and imminent death referrals were made to organ procurement organizations, of which 23,433 met the definition of eligible (10,717) or imminent (12,716) deaths per OPTN policy. There were 9971 deceased donors, and this number has been increasing since 2010. The number of organs authorized for recovery has also continued to increase since 2010. In 2016, 4859 organs were discarded, including 3631 kidneys, 317 pancreata, 739 livers, 8 intestines, 31 hearts, and 211 lungs. These numbers suggest a need to reduce the number of organs discarded.
Introduction
This chapter reports data collected by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to describe metrics such as donation rate, organ yield, and rate of organs recovered for transplant but not transplanted.
Definitions of Terms Related to Deceased Organ Donation
- All deaths and imminent deaths that were reported to the organ procurement organization (OPO).
- Eligible death: As per OPTN policy 1.2 in place during 2016, death of a person aged 70 years or younger who is legally declared brain dead according to hospital policy and does not exhibit any of the following indications: tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection with specified conditions, Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease, herpetic septicemia, rabies, reactive hepatitis B surface antigen, any retrovirus infection, active malignant neoplasms (except primary central nervous system tumors and skin cancers), Hodgkin disease, multiple myeloma, leukemia, miscellaneous carcinomas, aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, fungal and viral encephalitis, gangrene of bowel, extreme immaturity, or positive serological or viral culture findings for HIV.
- Donor: A person from whom at least one organ was recovered for the purpose of transplant, regardless of whether the organ was transplanted.
- Eligible donor: A donor whose death met the definition of eligible death.
- Organs authorized for recovery: Consent requested and given for recovery of specific organs from a donor. Recovery of organs for transplant must be specifically authorized by the individual(s) authorizing the donation, whether that is the donor or a surrogate donation decision maker, consistent with applicable state law.
- Donation rate: Number of eligible donors per 100 eligible deaths.
- Organs recovered per donor (ORPD): Total number of organs recovered divided by the number of donors, not limited to eligible deaths.
- Organs transplanted per donor (OTPD): Total number of organs transplanted divided by the number of donors, not limited to eligible deaths. For example, the OTPD for kidneys is the total number of kidneys transplanted divided by the total number of all donors.
- Organ yield metric: Ratio of observed to expected numbers of organs transplanted; expected numbers based on national experience with similar donors.
- Organs recovered for transplant but not transplanted: This is calculated by dividing the number of organs recovered for the purpose of transplant but not transplanted by the number of organs recovered for the purpose of transplant.
- DBD: Donations after brain death.
- DCD: Donations after circulatory death.
Donors
In 2016, 1,072,717 death and imminent death referrals were reported to OPTN by OPOs, of which 23,433 met the definition of eligible (10,717) or imminent (12,716) deaths as defined by OPTN policy. The number of eligible deaths increased from 8947 in 2012. There were 9971 deceased donors, and this number has been increasing since 2010. The number of deceased donor transplants increased to 27,622 from 24,980 in 2015. This is in contrast to the decline or lack of growth in numbers of deceased donor transplants in previous years. Also in contrast, 5976 living donor transplants were performed in 2016, a slight decreased from 5989 in 2015 (Figure DOD 2). Numbers of donations after brain death (DBD) and after circulatory death (DCD) increased to 8287 and 1684, respectively, continuing a steady increase since 2010 (Figure DOD 3). The number of organs authorized for recovery continued to increase to 71,550 from 55,348 since 2010 (Figure DOD 4). Potential reasons for the growth in donors and numbers of deceased donor transplants include the rising number of deaths of young individuals due to the opioid epidemic and increasing use of organs from DBD donors.
Donation Rate
OPTN requires that OPOs report all eligible deaths for OPO performance assessment. However, any performance metric based solely on eligible deaths uses only a subset of potential donors, since successful donations can come from donors not meeting the eligible death definition, e.g., donation after circulatory death (DCD) or donors aged older than 70 years. Recognizing this limitation, SRTR’s current donation rate is a measure of how often an eligible death becomes a donor. In 2016, the donation rate was 72.3 eligible donors per 100 eligible deaths, a slight increase from 72.2 in 2015 and a slight decrease from 73.4 in 2014. Unadjusted donation rates varied by donation service area (DSA), ranging from 52.9 to 93.3 (Figure DOD 5). This range increased slightly from 2015, when it varied from 59.3 to 89.3. Since the donation rate is unadjusted, the variation across DSAs should be interpreted with caution.
The donation rate varied by organ. The highest rate was 66.7 eligible donors per 100 eligible deaths for kidneys, for 7143 kidney donors from 10,717 eligible deaths. The next highest donation rate was 65.6 for liver, from 7041 liver donors. The lowest donation rate was 12.0 for pancreas donors, from 1283 donors (Figure DOD 6).
Organs Recovered per Donor
In 2016, 3.54 organs were recovered per donor, slightly higher than 3.51 in 2015 and 3.50 in 2014 (Figure DOD 7). The ORPD for all organs combined has been relatively stable compared with 2014 (Figure DOD 7, Figure DOD 8). Given that each donor can potentially donate two kidneys, the ORPD was highest for kidneys, followed by livers (Figure DOD 7, Figure DOD 8). ORPDs have increased for hearts and lungs over the past decade, and have declined for pancreata (Figure DOD 8). In 2016, the ORPD varied substantially by DSA, ranging from 2.90 to 4.19, a larger range than 2.89 to 4.12 in 2015 (Figure DOD 9). The ORPD is an unadjusted number, and thus represents a mix of donor types, including young and old and DBD and DCD donors. The ORPD for kidneys varied from 1.54 to 2.00; for pancreata, from 0 to 0.32; for livers, from 0.52 to 0.95; for intestines, from 0.0 to 0.12; for hearts, from 0 to 0.43; and for lungs, from 0.05 to 0.77 (Figure DOD 9).
Organs Transplanted per Donor and Organ Yield
The number of OTPD was 3.06 in 2016, slightly increased from 3.03 in 2015 and 2014 (Figure DOD 10). The OTPD for all organs combined was stable compared with 2014 (Figure DOD 10). Given that each donor can potentially donate two kidneys, the OTPD was highest for kidneys, followed by livers (Figure DOD 10, Figure DOD 11). OTPD increased for hearts and lungs over the past decade, but declined for pancreata (Figure DOD 11). In a 2015 unadjusted analysis, not accounting for the mix of DBD and DCD donor types, OTPD varied substantially by DSA, ranging from 2.28 to 3.80, a wider range than 2.46 to 3.71 in 2015 (Figures DOD 12). In 2016, the OTPD for kidneys varied by DSA from 1.13 to 1.85; for pancreata, from 0 to 0.26; for livers, from 0.49 to 0.94; for intestines, from 0 to 0.12; for hearts, from 0 to 0.43; and for lungs, from 0.05 to 0.72.
The OTPD from DBD donors was 3.29 in 2016, slightly higher than 3.25 in 2015 and 3.22 in 2014. The OTPD from DCD donors was 1.93 in 2016, the same as in 2015, and slightly lower than 1.97 in 2014 (Figure DOD 13). In 2016, of the 9971 donors, 16.8% nationally were DCD donors, slightly higher than 16% in 2015 and 15% in 2014.
In 2016, the average numbers of kidneys transplanted per donor were 1.43 for DBD (11,890 kidneys, higher than 10,919 in 2015) and 1.55 for DCD (2611 kidneys, higher than 2322 in 2015) donors (Figure DOD 14). The average number of kidneys transplanted varied by kidney donor profile index (KDPI), and was 1.92, 1.85, 1.53, and 0.62 for KDPI < 0.20, 0.21-0.34, 0.35-0.85, and > 0.85, respectively (Figure DOD 20). Apart from kidney donors, OTPD was higher from DBD than from DCD donors (Figure DOD 14, Figure DOD 15, Figure DOD 16, Figure DOD 17, Figure DOD 18, Figure DOD 19). The OTPD for kidneys has been higher from DCD than from DBD donors since 2006 (Figure DOD 14). The number of DCD liver donors continued to increase, from 405 in 2015 to 450 in 2016. Similarly, the number of DCD lungs continued to increase, from 114 in 2015 to 163 in 2016.
The yield metric shown in Figure DOD 21, Figure DOD 22, Figure DOD 23, Figure DOD 24, Figure DOD 25, and Figure DOD 26 compares the number of organs transplanted (observed) in 2015-2016 with the number of organs that would be expected to be transplanted based on the national experience with similar donors (expected). A ratio, expressed as observed/expected organs transplanted, of < 1 indicates that fewer organs were transplanted than would be expected based on the national models for that organ. A ratio of > 1 indicates that more organs were transplanted than would be expected. The mean observed/expected ratio for all organs varied from 0.92 to 1.08. The mean observed/expected ratio for kidneys varied from 0.90 to 1.13; for pancreata, from 0.14 to 2.70; for livers, from 0.82 to 1.16; for intestines, from 0 to 4.49; for hearts, from 0.68 to 1.31; and for lungs, from 0.55 to 1.39.
Organs Recovered for Transplant but Not Transplanted
The number of organs recovered for transplant but not transplanted is calculated by subtracting the number of organs transplanted from the number of organs recovered for the purpose of transplant. The percentage of organs not transplanted is then calculated by dividing the number of organs not transplanted by the number of organs recovered for the purpose of transplant. The percentage in 2016 for all organs combined was 13.8 per recovered organ, the same as in 2015 and slightly higher than 13.7 in 2014 (Figure DOD 27). In 2016, 4859 organs were discarded (4368 in 2015), including 3631 kidneys, 317 pancreata, 739 livers, 8 intestines, 31 hearts, and 211 lungs (Figure DOD 27). The numbers of kidneys and livers discarded increased from 3157 and 703, respectively, in 2015.
DCD organs and Disposition of donors
Use of DCD organs also varied (Figure DOD 28). The percentage of DCD donor organs among deceased donor transplant recipients varied across DSAs from 0 to 37.7. The percentage of donors with KDPI > 0.85 also varied across the DSAs, ranging from 0 to 25.2 (Figure DOD 29).
The disposition of donors is described in Figure DOD 30, Figure DOD 31, Figure DOD 32, Figure DOD 33, Figure DOD 34, Figure DOD 35, Figure DOD 36 and Figure DOD 37. Donor characteristics in 2016 are compared with characteristics in 2006 in Table DOD 1. The most remarkable differences were the increase in DCD donors from 6.7% in 2006 to 15.0% in 2016, and the increase in donors aged 18-34 years from 25.6% to 31.1%, possibly reflecting increased deaths due to the opioid abuse epidemic.
Figure List
Summary
Figure DOD 1. Relationship between deaths, donations, and transplants
Figure DOD 2. Overall counts of eligible deaths, donors, and transplants, 2005-2016
Figure DOD 3. Overall counts of deceased donors, dbd donors, and dcd donors, 2005-2016
Figure DOD 4. Overall counts of authorized and transplanted organs, 2005-2016
Donation rates
Figure DOD 5. Overall donations per 100 eligible deaths by DSA, 2016
Figure DOD 6. Overall and organ-specific donations per 100 eligible deaths, 2016
Organs recovered per donor
Figure DOD 7. Organs recovered per donor, all organs and kidney
Figure DOD 8. Organs recovered per donor, pancreas, liver, intestine, heart, and lung
Figure DOD 9. Organs recovered per donor by DSA, 2016
Organs transplanted per donor
Figure DOD 10. Organs transplanted per donor, all organs and kidney
Figure DOD 11. Organs transplanted per donor, pancreas, liver, intestine, heart, and lung
Figure DOD 12. Organs transplanted per donor, by DSA, 2016
Figure DOD 13. Organs transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 14. Kidneys transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 15. Pancreata transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 16. Livers transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 17. Intestines transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 18. Hearts transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 19. Lungs transplanted per donor, by DBD and DCD status
Figure DOD 20. Kidneys transplanted per donor, by KDPI
Yield
Figure DOD 21. Observed-to-expected yield per kidney, 2015-2016
Figure DOD 22. Observed-to-expected yield per pancreas, 2015-2016
Figure DOD 23. Observed-to-expected yield per liver, 2015-2016
Figure DOD 24. Observed-to-expected yield per intestine, 2015-2016
Figure DOD 25. Observed-to-expected yield per heart, 2016-2016
Figure DOD 26. Observed-to-expected yield per lung, 2016-2016
Organ recovered for transplant and not transplanted
Figure DOD 27. Organs recovered for transplant and not transplanted
Organ quality
Figure DOD 28. Variation in percentage of dcd donors from all donors
Figure DOD 29. Variation in percentage of donors with KDPI greater than 85% among deceased donor kidney transplant recipients, by DSA, 2016
Organ use charts
Figure DOD 30. Organ use chart for reported left kidneys, 2016
Figure DOD 31. Organ use chart for reported right kidneys, 2016
Figure DOD 32. Organ use chart for reported en bloc kidneys, 2016
Figure DOD 33. Organ use chart for pancreas, 2016
Figure DOD 34. Organ use chart for liver, 2016
Figure DOD 35. Organ use chart for intestine, 2016
Figure DOD 36. Organ use chart for heart, 2016
Figure DOD 37. Organ use chart for lung, 2016
Table List
Donor characteristics
Table DOD 1. Characteristics of deceased donors, 2006-2016
Table DOD 1 Characteristics of deceased donors, 2006-2016 The donor characteristics of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and DCD status in 2006 and 2016.
Characteristic | 2006, N | 2006, Percent | 2016, N | 2016, Percent |
Age: <18 years | 969 | 12.1% |
935 | 9.4% | Age: 18-34 years
| 2050 | 25.6% | 3108 |
31.1% | Age: 35-49 years | 2142 |
26.7% | 2648 | 26.5% |
Age: 50-64 years | 2081 | 25.9% |
2661 | 26.7% | Age: ≥65 years
| 781 | 9.7% | 627 | 6.3% |
Sex: Female | 3239 | 40.4% |
4019 | 40.3% | Sex: Male
| 4784 | 59.6% | 5960 |
59.7% | Race/ethnicity: White | 5425 |
67.6% | 6655 | 66.7% |
Race/ethnicity: Black | 1255 | 15.6% |
1649 | 16.5% | Race/ethnicity: Hispanic
| 1097 | 13.7% | 1307 |
13.1% | Race/ethnicity: Other/unkown | 246 |
3.1% | 368 | 3.7% |
DCD status: DBD | 7486 | 93.3% |
8481 | 85.0% | DCD status: DCD
| 537 | 6.7% | 1498 |
15.0% |
|