Retrospective Analysis of 1998 Patients Diagnosed with Brain Death between 2011 and 2019 in Turkey

• Published in: Journal of neuroanaesthesiology and critical care Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 106 - 111
• Main Authors: Sipahioglu, Hilal, Elay, Gulseren, Bingol, Nezahat, Bahar, Ilhan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd 01-06-2022
• Subjects: brain death; donation; intensive care; organ transplantation; Original Article; turkey; brain death; donation; Turkey; intensive care; organ transplantation
• ISSN: 2348-0548; 2348-926X
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1750093

Abstract
Background
 Organ transplantation reduces mortality and morbidity in patients with end-stage organ failure. The number of living organ donations is not enough to meet the current organ transplantation need; therefore, there is an urgent need for organ donation from cadavers. We aimed to determine the organ donation rates and reveal the obstacles against donation.
Methods
 This study is designed as a retrospective multicenter study consisting of eight university hospitals, three training and research hospitals, 26 state hospitals, and 74 private hospitals in nine provinces in Turkey. A total of 1,998 patients diagnosed with brain death between January 2011 to April 2019 were examined through the electronic medical records data system.
Results
 Median patient age was 38 (IQR: 19–57), and 1,275 (63.8%) patients were male. The median time between the intensive care unit admission and brain death diagnosis was 56 (IQR:2–131) hours. The most commonly used confirmatory diagnostic test was computed tomography in 216 (30.8%) patients, and the most common cause of brain death was intraparenchymal hemorrhage with 617 (30.9%) patients. A total of 1,646 (82.4%) families refused to permit organ donation. The most common reasons for refusal were family disagreement (68%), social/relative pressure (24%), and religious beliefs (8%).
Conclusions
 Many families refuse permission for organ donation; some of the provinces included in this study experienced years of exceptionally high refusal rates.