Is It Useful to Measure Efficiency Indices of a Deceased-Donor Kidney Transplant Program in One Intensive Care Unit?

Before 2010, donor detection rate and donor conversion rate at our tertiary level care institution were low. To assess the effectiveness of the implemented organizational changes, an analysis of organizational indicators with the use of the DOPKI (Improving the Knowledge and Practices in Organ Donation) project was conducted.

Three groups of DOPKI indicators were used: indicators of the potential for deceased organ donation, indicators on areas for improvement in the deceased donation process, and indicators of program effectiveness. We compared the 3-year period before instituting organizational measures with the 3-year period after the changes.

Significant differences in almost all DOPKI indicators were found. Most importantly, the number of actual donors has increased significantly, pointing to the effectiveness of the organizational measures that we put in place in 2010. In addition, the study highlights the value of the use of DOPKI indicators in one intensive care unit to improve the transplant program on a hospital level.

We conclude by arguing that despite the lack of a uniform national database, DOPKI indicators could still be useful for improving the quality of donor programs.