Different countries have their own rules about medical procedures. That makes sense when you consider how much variation there can be in how methods can be performed and the varying health needs of different populations. But sometimes, the rules in some countries may be outdated without anyone realizing it.
In most countries, organs from organ donors can only be used if they were harvested within an hour of ceasing life-sustaining treatment. However, in the UK, kidneys can be taken up to three hours after a donor has been removed from life support. Research from Newcastle Univ. has found that the amount of time between withdrawing life support and organ harvesting doesn’t impact kidney quality.
We have previously written about the urgent need for kidney donations. More than half a million people receive dialysis multiple times a week here in the U.S. There are more than 90,000 people on the national transplant waiting list hoping for a kidney. Kidneys are one of the most in-demand organs.
The U.S. follows the guideline that a kidney must be harvested within an hour of a donor’s heart stopping. If the rule were changed to follow the three-hour guideline, that would add 1,000 extra kidney transplants nationally annually.
“Our study debunks the idea that a one-hour time to death is crucial for maintaining the health of organs,” said Samuel Tingle, Clinical Research Fellow at Newcastle Univ. who led the study. “What we show is that a longer time to death does not impact the quality or success of kidneys, but it does increase the number of kidneys donated. This offers benefits for patients on the waiting list, potential organ donors and donor families. Increasing the number of kidneys internationally could have a huge impact on transplant waiting lists, saving many more lives. Getting patients off dialysis also massively improves their quality of life. Raising the number of kidneys which are successfully donated from consented donors also makes sure we are respecting the wishes of donors and their families wherever possible.”
Mr. Tingle raises an interesting point about the wishes of donors. Many people are organ donors. However, if their organs are not harvested promptly, their final wishes are not respected. People who believed they would be able to help others in death do not get to give others the gift they wished. By opening up the window for donation, more kidneys are made available, and more people’s desires are respected in death.
“This is a wonderfully simple change that could be made worldwide to safely increase the number of kidneys available for transplant,” said Mr. Tingle.
