Background: The main factor limiting organ donation is the availability of suitable donors and organs. Currently, most transplants follow multiple organ retrieval from brain-dead organ donors. Recently, transplant medicine and techniques of transplanting organs from a brain-dead donor to a living recipient are progressing all over the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the increase in organ donation cases from brain-dead patients in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in the years 2015 and 2023.
Method: In this study, the effect of various methods such as increasing the identification of brain death cases, increasing the voluntary donation of brain-dead organs, proper care of brain-dead patients until the time of organ donation, improving the transfer of brain-dead patients from the hospital of origin to the transplant hospital and holding educational workshops, it was reviewed for related teams. The cases of brain death detection have been increased by notifying the national laws and guidelines of organ donation to hospital managers, employing and training on-site inspectors and telephone inspectors to identify and introduce patients with GCS less than or equal to 5, and continuously monitoring their performance. Also promoting the culture of organ donation at the community level through public education in the media has led to an increase in voluntary organ donation from brain death. In addition, To take care of brain-dead patients during transfer, specialized equipment and standards including the use of a trained team of specialists including anesthesiologists, nurses and technicians as well as the use of an ambulance with advanced mobile ICU equipment have been investigated. Furthermore conducting specialized transplant training courses for target groups including hospital managers, doctors, assistants nurses, and staff including how to diagnose and report brain death patients, correct patient transfer, and patient care.
Result: organ donation from brain death patients at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences increased significantly from 12 PMP in 2015 to 17.4 PMP in 2023.
Conclusion: results show that public education the promotion of organ donation culture and the training of the transplant specialist team can help in increasing the number of organ donation cases. Emphasizing these topics can help in increasing the cases of organ donation from brain death and improving the care and maintenance of brain death patients.