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Improved Utilization Rate in Solid Organ Donors ≥80 Years: The 7-Year Tuscany Experience
Chiara Lazzeri1, Davide Ghinolfi2, Lara Entani Santini3
1Regional Transplant Center, Cleveland, USA.
Clinical Transplantation
|March 27, 2025
Summary
Organ donation from elderly donors (≥80 years) is crucial due to organ shortages. This study shows increased utilization and good survival rates for organs from these donors, highlighting their value in transplantation.
Area of Science:
- Transplantation immunology
- Geriatric medicine
- Organ donation and procurement
Background:
- Tuscany has a high donor rate (100 donors/pmp annually).
- Increasing donor age and organ scarcity necessitate using organs from elderly donors (≥80 years).
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utilization rate of organs from donors aged 80 years and older in Tuscany from 2018 to 2024.
- To evaluate graft and patient survival outcomes following transplantation of organs from octogenarian donors.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective observational study of 809 donors aged ≥80 years.
- Comparison of two periods: Period 1 (2018-2020, pre-COVID) and Period 2 (2021-2024, post-COVID).
Main Results:
- Organ utilization rate from donors ≥80 years increased from 81.5% in Period 1 to 91.7% in Period 2.
- Overall graft survival at 5 years was 81.8%, and patient survival was 85.5%.
- Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) occurred in 2.9% and ischemic cholangiopathy (IC) in 6.3% of cases.
Conclusions:
- Donors aged ≥80 years constitute a significant donor subgroup (one-third of total donors).
- The observed increase in utilization rate may be attributed to factors in both procurement and transplant phases.
- Organs from elderly donors are valuable and can achieve successful transplant outcomes.
