Number of organs donated, eligible donors fell nearly 30% in both waves of the pandemic
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During the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of eligible organ donors and actual organs donated fell approximately 30% in the United Kingdom, according to data published in Anesthesia.
“Although vaccination has reduced deaths and hospitalizations, the pandemic and its impact on the health service are ongoing,” Nicholas R. Plummer, MA, MSci, MB, BChir, FRCA, MRCP, a specialist registrar consultant at Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, we investigated the impact of the first 12 months of the pandemic on organ donation and transplant activity and the decisions made to mitigate this impact.”
Using data from National Health Service Blood and Transplant, researchers compared donation rates during the first wave of the pandemic (March 11, 2020, to Sept. 1, 2020) with those of the second wave of the pandemic (Sept. 2, 2020, to March 10, 2021). Referral, donation and transplant data were summed into 7-day epochs.
During the first wave of the pandemic, weekly referrals declined from 326 to 153. During the second wave, weekly referrals stayed between 229 to 321. Researchers did not observe any differences in the types of organs transplanted or mean weekly organs transplanted between waves.
Similarly, the overall number of eligible donors fell from 6,038 before the pandemic to 4,282 afterward, and the total number of transplants fell from 1,620 to 1,140.
Researchers also identified fewer in-hospital deaths from conditions associated with organ donation, such as cardiac arrest (down 17%) and intracranial catastrophes (down 12%), during the first year of the pandemic, according to a press release.
“As organ donation organizations seek to recover from the pandemic in 2022 and beyond, further work is needed to continually assess the impact of COVID-19 on transplant programs worldwide to consider where further adaption can help to reduce its impact on transplantation rates and prepare for future challenges to the system,” the researchers wrote.
Reference:
- Organs donated and eligible organ donors in UK both fell by around 30% during the first and second waves of the COVID pandemic. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/964457. Published Sept. 13, 2022. Accessed Sept. 14, 2022.
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