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Alcohol use in donors is a protective factor on recipients' outcome after heart transplantation

David J De La Zerda1, Oved Cohen, Ramin E Beygui

  • 1Division of Cardiac Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1741, USA.

Transplantation
|May 15, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Donor alcoholism may improve heart transplant outcomes. Hearts from alcoholic donors (ADG) showed lower mortality and higher survival rates compared to non-alcoholic donor groups (NADG), suggesting it is safe to use these organs.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Transplantation Medicine
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Donor selection is critical for heart transplantation success.
  • Alcoholism is a common condition among potential organ donors.
  • The impact of donor alcohol use on transplant outcomes requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effect of donor alcoholism on heart transplant recipient outcomes.
  • To compare survival rates and mortality between recipients of hearts from alcoholic and non-alcoholic donors.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of 437 heart transplant recipients (2002-2005).
  • Patients categorized into alcoholic donor group (ADG, n=98) and non-alcoholic donor group (NADG, n=323).
  • Mean follow-up of 3.14 years, analyzing mortality, survival, and rejection rates.

Main Results:

  • The ADG had significantly lower mortality (7.1% vs. 17.1%, P=0.015) and higher survival rates (72.8% vs. 66.2%, P=0.019).
  • Mean time to mortality was longer in the ADG (27.7 vs. 16.4 months, P=0.031).
  • Rejection rates and rejection-free survival showed no significant difference between groups.

Conclusions:

  • Chronic alcoholism in heart donors appears to be a protective factor for transplant outcomes.
  • Significant differences in mortality and survival favor hearts from alcoholic donors.
  • These findings suggest that donor hearts are safe to use irrespective of a history of alcoholism.
Abstract

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