Organ donation after acute subarachnoid hemorrhage: opt in or opt out?

Excerpt

The chronic shortage of organ donors is a healthcare challenge in many European countries. Identifying ways to increase the number of donors is an important goal for both policy-makers and physicians. In this light, Olli-Pekka Kämäräinen and colleagues analyze the organ donation population in their academic institution in the current issue of Acta Neurochirurgica and discuss factors that could increase the number of available donors [3]. They analyzed 769 acute subarachnoid hemorrhage patients over an 11-year study period and found that 83 patients were potential organ donors (PODs), whereas the donor conversion rate (the ratio of actual versus potential donors) was 59%. Interestingly, they found that this rate rose from 52 to 74% after the introduction of presumed consent for organ donation, also known as opt-out. …