Exclusion of deceased donors post-procurement of tissues

The EU Tissues and Cells Directive (2004/23/EC, 2006/17/EC, 2006/86/EC) (EUTCD) provides standards for quality and safety for all aspects of banking of tissues and cells for clinical applications. Commission Directive 2006/17/EC stipulates that the complete donor record with all the medical information is assessed for suitability before releasing tissues for clinical use. The aim of this study was to investigate the medical reasons for post-procurement donor exclusion, to identify the various potential sources for gathering information about donors' medical and behavioural history and to evaluate their contribution to maximising the safety of donations. Information was collected from the Tissue Services (TS) records of 1000 consecutive deceased donors submitted to National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) medical officers for authorisation for release for subsequent tissue processing and then for transplantation. Of the 1000 donors 60 (6%) were excluded because they did not fulfil the donor selection requirements of the EUTCD and NHSBT donor selection guidelines. The main reasons for medical exclusion were the presence of significant local or systemic infection in 32 donors (53% of those excluded for medical reasons) and a history of past or occult malignancy in 9 donors (15% of those excluded for medical reasons) which was not identified prior to procurement. The information leading to post-procurement exclusion was obtained from autopsy reports in 35 of the 60 excluded donors for medical reasons (58%) and from the general practitioner for 10 donors (17% of those excluded for medical reasons). In summary, careful evaluation of complete donor records reduces the potential risk of disease transmission by tissue allografts and ensures compliance with regulations and guidelines. The findings may lead to changes in donor selection policies with the aim of improving efficiency without compromising safety.