Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
08:58
Enhanced Rabies Surveillance Using a Direct Rapid Immunohistochemical Test
Published on: April 30, 2019
Cadaver donor discards secondary to serology
J R Barnett1, R L McCauley, S Schutzler
1University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Burns Hospital-Galveston, 77550, USA.
The Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation
|April 17, 2001
Summary
Cadaveric skin donation is vital for burn patients, but screening limitations lead to discards. Improving serologic testing is crucial to increase the availability of life-saving skin grafts.
Area of Science:
- * Tissue banking and transplantation immunology.
- * Infectious disease screening in organ and tissue donation.
Background:
- * Cadaveric skin grafts are critical for treating severe thermal injuries, significantly improving patient survival rates.
- * The availability of donor skin is frequently compromised by the presence of potentially pathogenic organisms, necessitating rigorous screening.
- * Limited data exists on the specific reasons for discarding screened cadaveric skin donors, particularly concerning serologic findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the reasons for discarding screened cadaveric skin donors.
- * To identify the prevalence of specific positive serologies among discarded donors.
- * To evaluate the effectiveness of current donor screening protocols in detecting infectious agents.
Main Methods:
- * Retrospective review of 813 referred donors between March 1994 and March 1996.
- * Analysis of donor screening questionnaires, including cause of death, medical history, and social history.
- * Identification of donors discarded due to positive serologic test results for infectious diseases.
Main Results:
- * 153 out of 813 screened donors were discarded, with 61 (39.9%) of these discards attributed to positive serologies.
- * The most common positive serologies included Hepatitis B core antibody (52.3%), Hepatitis C virus antibody (14.3%), and Syphilis (5.5%).
- * Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) antibody and Human T-lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) antibody each accounted for 4.9% of positive serologies.
Conclusions:
- * Current donor screening methods, while effective for social history assessment, are insufficient for identifying all donors with positive serologies for hepatitis, HIV, HTLV, or syphilis.
- * A significant number of donors are discarded post-screening due to serologic results, highlighting a gap in detection.
- * Enhanced screening mechanisms are essential to reduce discard rates and improve the availability of viable cadaveric skin for transplantation.
