Fall in organ donations and transplants in Ceará in the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study, April - June 2020

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Transplant Surgery
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for healthcare systems globally.
• Organ donation and transplantation services are particularly vulnerable to disruptions during public health crises.
• Ceará state, Brazil, experienced the effects of the pandemic starting in early 2020.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organ donation and transplantation rates in Ceará, Brazil.
• To compare organ donation and transplant data from the pandemic period with pre-pandemic and early pandemic periods.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study design was employed.
• Data were sourced from the Brazilian Organ Transplantation Association.
• Organ donors and transplant numbers from April-June 2020 were compared to April-June 2019 and Q1 2020.

Main Results:

• In H1 2020, Ceará recorded 72 effective donors and 352 transplants.
• Q2 2020 saw only 17 donors (23.6%) and 37 transplants (10.7%).
• Compared to April-June 2019, April-June 2020 showed a 67.9% decrease in donors and an 89.3% decrease in transplants.

Conclusions:

• The declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial reduction in organ donors and transplants in Ceará.
• Kidney, heart, and cornea transplants were particularly affected by this decline.
• The findings highlight the critical impact of the pandemic on vital organ replacement services.