Impact of Donation Physicians on Deceased Organ Donation: A Systematic Review

An emerging strategy to increase deceased organ donation is to use dedicated donation physicians to champion organ donation. We sought to conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of donation physicians in improving organ donation outcomes.

A systematic review was conducted following Cochrane principles. MEDLINE, Embase, and CINHAL databases were searched from inception to March 26, 2020.

Quantitative studies examining the effects of donation physicians on all deceased organ donation outcomes were considered for inclusion. Review articles, editorials and opinion articles, and case studies were excluded. Study selection was completed independently by 2 team members; all discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Two team members independently extracted data from studies.

A total of 1017 studies were screened, and 12 met inclusion criteria. Included studies were published between 1994 and 2019. Half used an interrupted time series design (n = 6; 50%), 3 (25%) were cohort studies, and 3 (25%) used a before-and-after study design. Outcomes (reported in greater than 50% of included articles) included consent/refusal rate (n = 8; 67%), number of potential donors (n = 7; 58%), and number of actual donors (n = 7; 58%). Across studies and design types, there was an increase in potential organ donors ranging from 8% to 143% (Mdn = 33%), an increase in actual organ donors from 15% to 113% (Mdn = 27%), an increase in donor consent rate from -3% to 258% (Mdn = 12%), and an increase in deceased donor transplants from 13% to 24% (Mdn = 19%) following the introduction of donation physicians.

Donation physicians have the potential to significantly improve deceased organ donation. Further implementation and evaluation of donation physician programs is warranted. However, implementation should be undertaken with a clear plan for a methodologically rigorous evaluation of outcomes.