Quality metrics in solid organ donation: A narrative review.

Area of Science:

• Medical Science
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Evidence on quality indicators for organ donation and transplantation is heterogeneous, potentially due to variations in healthcare systems and limited data.
• Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the US use multiple quality metrics, including population characteristics, to assess performance.
• Quality improvement programs are established in Europe, but their impact on organ donation and transplantation outcomes requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize available evidence on quality metrics for solid organ procurement in the United States and Europe.
• To identify the role and impact of quality indicators in assessing and improving organ donation and transplantation performance.
• To highlight the significance of quality assessment methods for national and hospital-level interventions.

Main Methods:

• A PubMed search was conducted to identify relevant studies on quality metrics in organ procurement.
• Evidence was summarized and analyzed by country, acknowledging differences in donation and transplantation systems.
• The review focused on quality assessment practices in the US and quality improvement programs in Europe.

Main Results:

• US Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) utilize a range of quality metrics, considering donor and recipient population characteristics.
• In Poland, hospitals implementing quality indicators and improvement procedures showed better outcomes than those without.
• In Tuscany, Italy, a monitoring approach based on indicators increased transplant and donation activity, particularly for controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) donors.

Conclusions:

• Developing robust methods for quality assessment and improvement is crucial for organ donation and transplantation authorities.
• Quality indicators play a vital role in identifying key interventions at both national and hospital levels.
• Standardized quality metrics can help optimize organ procurement processes and enhance transplant outcomes globally.