Procurement and Allocation of Solid Organs for Transplantation

The success of solid-organ transplantation has increased the need for an expanded supply of organ donors.1,2 In response to this need, the age limit for cadaveric donors has been increased, and donors over the age of 50 years are now routinely evaluated. The use of organs from living related donors, living unrelated donors, and asystolic donors (those declared dead on the basis of cardiopulmonary criteria) has also increased. Transplanted organs have even been reused.35 Nevertheless, there has been a progressively widening gap between the number of patients waiting for transplants and the number of transplantations performed. The number . . .