Penn researchers analyzed data from nearly 11,000 deceased organ donors over a five-year period, comparing lung transplant survival rates between hospital-based and independent donor care units.

RT’s Three Key Takeaways:

1. The study found that lung transplant recipients had better survival rates when the lungs were recovered from hospital-based donor care units compared to independent donor care units.
2. Despite the better outcomes in hospital-based units, independent donor care units generally saw higher rates of lung donations.
3. The findings suggest that enhancing organ donor management practices in hospital-based units could improve lung transplant outcomes, highlighting the potential for optimizing donor care to increase the quality and availability of donated organs.

A new study finds better survival rates for recipients of lungs from hospital-based donor care units compared to independent donor care units.

For the study, Penn researchers examined the differences in lung transplant graft outcomes from organs recovered from the two types of deceased organ donor care facilities operating in the United States: independent—located outside of acute-care hospitals—and hospital-based.

The research is published in JAMA Network Open.

Study Methodology

In the United States, deceased organ donors are traditionally cared for in hospitals, which provide intensive care and testing needed to rehabilitate organs, identify transplant recipients, and perform organ recovery surgeries. 

Over the past two decades, some donors have been transferred from hospitals to donor care units (DCUs), which provide similar services but focus solely on deceased donors. Independent and hospital-based are the two types of DCUs currently operating in the United States.

Researchers analyzed lung donation rates and lung transplant survival outcomes from almost 11,000 deceased donors who underwent organ recovery procedures between April 2017 and June 2022. The researchers hypothesized that lung transplant survival would not significantly differ between organs recovered from donors managed in these two types of units. 

Insights and Implications

However, the study showed that while independent donor centers generally saw higher donation rates, recipients of lungs from hospital-based DCUs had longer survival. 

“These insights could drive improvements in organ donor management practices nationwide, ultimately enhancing the quality and availability of donated organs,” says Emily Vail, MD, MSc, an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, who led the study, in a release. 

The study underscores that the care system for deceased organ donors is evolving, with the potential to significantly improve organ quality and increase the number of available organs per donor, according to researchers.

Importance of Efficient Donor Management

Vail’s research is particularly crucial given the fragile nature of lung tissue and the stringent criteria for lung donation. Only about 20% of deceased donors are eligible to donate lungs, making efficient and effective donor management practices vital.  

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