The cadaveric organ donor program at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 1977 to 2005

The transplantation program with cadaveric organs has been ongoing at our institution for more than 40 years, since 1965. The purpose of this report was to analyze changes in the donor population and causes of death over the years. This retrospective analysis of donor records between 1977 and 2005, included 1331 donors. Since 1977, the number of donors has remained unchanged, but their profile has changed. The median donor age today has almost doubled, from 30 to nearly 60 years. Early on the most common cause of death was head trauma and the majority of donors were men. Since the mid-1980s, the main cause of death was intracerebral hemorrhage or cerebral thrombosis and the gender distribution became equal. The number of procured and transplanted organs from each donor has increased, despite an increased donor age. The multi-organ donor rate exceeded 80% in the beginning of this decade; we retrieved 3.9 organs per donor. These results may be explained by improved organ donor care and organization, and by increased awareness of potential donors among elderly patients.