Worldwide barriers to organ donation

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Transplantation Medicine
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• The gap between organ transplant recipients and available organs is widening annually.
• Organ trafficking has become a significant global issue, generating billions of dollars.
• Addressing barriers to organ donation is critical to improve transplant rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and address the barriers affecting organ donation in the United States and internationally.
• To explore the impact of varying definitions and regulations on organ donation and trafficking.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and other online resources.
• Included are peer-reviewed articles, cohort studies, case series, and reports from 1968 to 2014.
• Searches focused on organ donation, brain death, donation after cardiac death, and organ trafficking.

Main Results:

• Lack of standardized brain death and organ donation criteria globally leads to lost donor potential.
• Barriers include inconsistent legal and clinical definitions of brain death, and varying perspectives on organ donation.
• Limited international oversight fuels organ trafficking.

Conclusions:

• A global standard for brain death and donation after cardiac death criteria is urgently needed.
• Unified standards can improve organ donation regulation and transplantation rates.
• Standardization may help mitigate the problem of organ trafficking.