Can the safety risks associated with organ donation be reduced?

One topic I don’t find myself researching and writing a lot about is the patient safety issues surrounding organ donation. The Wall Street Journal has a revealing story today that has put the issue on my agenda, however. THe story is about the dangers organ recipients face due to a precarious balance that those organizations collecting and distributing organs face. On the one hand, there is a long waiting list for most organs, and in fact 9,000 people die annually waiting for an organ. Therefore, time is of the essence, and there often is not the adequate amount of time to rigorously test organs for disease, parasites, cancer, and infection, and many organs that are not extremely healthy make it onto the list of those eligible to be received. However, there’s a growing number of people who suffer extreme severe reactions to organs that have been transplanted into them because the organs do in fact carry some sort of infection.

The United Network for Organ Sharing, which operates the U.S.’ organ transplants,  has been tracking rates of reported infection since 2004 and found that only 1% of patients who receive an organ report also acquire a disease because of an infected organ. However, the group says that most likely patients underreport any such transmission.

The group’s latest project is the development of an organ donor ID system. The idea is to prevent the spread of disease via organ/tissue transplant. One such donor infected with Hepatitis C donated 91 different tissues and organs to 40 patients. Of those, eight patients became infected and two died from the disease.

To read more on this topic from the Wall Street Journal, click here.