Tissue procurement and transplantation: a Tuscany perspective.

Area of Science:

• Organ transplantation
• Tissue procurement
• Regenerative medicine

Background:

• Regional donor procurement networks are crucial but often overlooked metrics for transplantation efficiency.
• The Organizzazione Toscana Trapianti (OTT) was established in 2003 to centralize and reorganize donation and transplantation activities in Tuscany.
• The regional tissue procurement network utilized both brain death (BD) and cardiac death (CD) donors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively analyze tissue procurement and transplantation activities in Tuscany from 2004 to 2006.
• To evaluate the efficiency of the regional donor procurement network under the OTT.
• To highlight the role of in-hospital transplantation coordinators (IHTCs) in tissue procurement.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of tissue procurement and transplantation data from 2004 to 2006 in Tuscany.
• Analysis of donor types (BD and CD) and procurement responsibilities.
• Data collection on the number of tissue donors procured, transplantations performed (skin, bone, heart valves), and cornea procurement/transplantation.

Main Results:

• A total of 397 tissue donors were procured, leading to 4151 tissue transplantations (2909 skin, 1209 bone, 33 heart valves).
• Over 2116 cornea donors were procured, with 4117 corneas retrieved, 1779 deemed fit, and 1418 successfully transplanted.
• In-hospital transplantation coordinators (IHTCs) played a vital role in the procurement process.

Conclusions:

• Effective tissue procurement relies on the utilization of brain death (BD) donors.
• Significant organizational efforts by in-hospital transplantation coordinators (IHTCs) are essential for successful tissue procurement.
• The Tuscan experience demonstrates the potential for efficient regional tissue procurement networks.