Organs for transplantation: analysis of 27,000 cadaveric donor organs

Organs from brain-dead cadaveric donors have been increasingly used for saving lives and preserving health. During the 5 calendar years 1984 through 1988, specific organ recovery patterns were reported for 10,488 donors of 27,833 vascular organs. Transplantation of 18,277 kidneys, 3425 hearts, 2957 livers, and 411 pancreatic grafts (as well as smaller numbers of lung, intestine, heart-lung, and multivisceral grafts) represented an organ utilization rate exceeding 90%. Organ sharing was common and had a beneficial effect overall. Renal allografts from multiorgan donors showed better early function and long-term survival. A steady decrease in organ wastage has been accompanied by a substantial increase in numbers of cadaveric multiorgan donors. The resource of life-saving cadaveric organs is effectively and widely dispersed, allowing increasingly common treatment of end-stage organ failure by transplantation.