Organ donation after brain-death: experience over five-years in a tertiary hospital

Organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage organ failure. The main challenge for organ transplantation continues to be organ shortage. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the success rate of organ donation after brain-death, as documented in a tertiary closed intensive care unit in Saudi Arabia. Data was obtained from a collected database from Jan 2001- Dec 2005. Brain death was documented in 162 patients, most of whom were young (median age was 28 +/- 17 years). The group consisted predominantly of males, 149 (92%) and Saudis 109 (67%). Only 24 (17%) positive consents to organ donation were obtained and the majority of them [21 (87%)] were from non-Saudis. Positive consent was obtained from only three percent of Saudi potential organ donors in comparison to the 40% positive rate among non-Saudis (40%) (p<0.05). In conclusion, we believe that misconceptions about brain-death are the likely causes behind this unfavorable view towards organ donations among Saudis.