Prospective audit of deaths at a teaching hospital

We undertook a prospective audit of all the deaths in the trauma unit, the emergency unit, and the intensive care units to estimate the number of potential organ donors in the hospital and identify the reasons for nonreferral of potential donors. The transplant coordinators undertook daily visits to the above units and documented all of the deaths occurring in the previous 24 hours. The patient records were reviewed, and the medical and nursing staff interviewed to determine the precise circumstances surrounding the death. Seven of the 14 deaths in the neurosurgical intensive care unit were related to the head injury, and five were certified brain dead and referred as an organ donor. Fifty-eight of 83 deaths in the trauma unit were head injury related; however, only eight were eventually certified brain dead and referred. In the emergency unit, only one of 76 patients who died was certified brain dead and referred as an organ donor. Although many of the deaths in the above units are related to a head injury or cerebral event, very few are actually certified brain dead. All potential donors who were certified brain dead were referred to the transplant team.