Current Status of Discarded Grafts in Korean Organ Transplantation

Despite the severe shortage of available organs, many are discarded after procurement. This study aims to analyze the current status of discarded organs (retrieved, but not transplanted organs) from deceased donors in Korea.

Deceased donor organ and procurement data were collected from the Korean Network for Organ Sharing and Korea Organ Donation Agency database from 2013 to 2016.

Between 2013 and 2016, a total of 6315 deceased donor organ transplants were performed nationwide. A total of 63 organs were discarded. The most commonly discarded organs were kidney (n = 24), followed by islet cell (n = 23), lung (n = 9), liver (n = 6), and pancreas (n = 1). The most common cause for discarding solid organs was poor organ condition (n = 24). Other reasons included aggravation of donor condition, incidental cancer detection of the donor, and the abscence of matching recipient. Islet cells (n = 23) were not used because of inadequate separation and purification.

To reduce unnecessary graft discard in Korea, systems-based improvements in preprocurement organ evaluation and postprocurement preservation are imperative.