Donor Heart Utilization in Korea

Donor heart utilization patterns in Korea are not well known. We aimed to analyze the current utilization rate of donor heart and to evaluate the reason for non-utilization in Korea.

Brain death donors were identified from the Korean Network for Organ Sharing registry from November 2009 to December 2019. Baseline characteristics and heart transplant related parameters were compared between transplanted and discarded donor hearts.

Among 4,401 donors, 1,383 (31.4%) hearts were utilized. Hearts from younger, male donors without history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus were utilized more frequently. The most common blood type in the transplanted group was O, while blood type A was the most common blood type in the discarded group. The ejection fraction in the discarded group were significantly lower (57.0 ± 13.5% vs. 61.7 ± 7.0%, p<0.001). Reasons for non-utilization were as follows: medical condition (34.4%), old age (31.8%), refused by all candidates (22.5%), refused to donate (11.0%), and others (0.2%). The most common cause of brain death was cerebrovascular disease in both the transplanted and discarded groups, but the incidence was significantly higher in the discarded group (46.8% vs. 37.5%, p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, old age, small body surface area, rapid heart rate, blood type other than O, abnormal echocardiography findings were independent predictors for non-utilization.

Average donor heart utilization rate was 31.4% and it improved to 42.9% in 2019. However, substantial numbers of donor hearts are still discarded. A strategic approach to improve donor heart utilization is necessary.