A new look to organ donation in children in Argentina

Abstract

Argentina experienced an initial increase in the organ donation rate with the incorporation of the “presumed donor” figure in the new transplant law (Number 24,447), currently facing a stagnation in the donation rate, which deepens even further in the pediatric population. We consider that, in this particular population, this is due to the low detection rate of possible donors by health personnel, the lack of consideration of donation as part of end-of life care, and the decrease in probable donors due to the advance in current therapeutic measures, which achieves greater patient survival. A protocol is proposed for the multidisciplinary approach to the potential donor with the primary objective of optimizing the donation process under neurological criteria and expanding the pool of donors through the incorporation into the donation-transplant process of: 1) chronic patients, with palliative care, under neurological criteria; 2) patients who, in the context of adequacy of the therapeutic effort, under circulatory criteria, allow progress towards donation in controlled asystole.