Establishment of educational program for multiorgan procurement from deceased donors

Multiorgan procurement is not an easy procedure and requires special technique and training. Since sufficient donors are not available for on-site training in Japan, establishment of the educational program for multiorgan procurement is mandatory.

Development of e-learning and simulation using pigs are our main goals. E-learning contains three dimensional computer graphic (3DCG) animations of the multiorgan procurement, explanation of both donor criteria and procurement procedure, and self-assessment examination. To clarify the donor criteria, the risk factors to 3-month survival of the recipients were analyzed in 138 adult cases of liver transplantation. The 3DCG animation for liver procurement was developed, which was used in the lecture prior to the simulation on August 10, 2013. The results of the examination after this lecture (exam 2013) were compared with the results after the lecture without using animation in 2012 (exam 2012). The simulation was performed by 97 trainees divided into 9 teams, and the surveys were conducted.

The risk factors for early outcome of the recipients were cold ischemia time (≥ 10 hours), Model for End-stage Liver Disease score (≥ 20), and donor age (≥ 55 years). Results of examination showed that overall percentage of the correct answers was significantly higher in exam 2013 than in exam 2012 (48.3% vs 32.7%; P = .0001). The survey after the simulation of multiorgan procurement revealed that most trainees thought that the simulation was useful and should be continued.

The novel educational program could allow young surgeons to make precise assessments and perform the exact procedure in the multiorgan procurement.