The current status of neonatal organ donation in the UK

Solid organ transplantation provides life-saving treatment for infants and children with liver and cardiac failure, and is the best treatment for end-stage renal disease. In the UK in 2012/2013, 25 infants (<1 year of age) received organ transplants comprising four heart, 17 deceased donor liver and four living donor liver transplants, and as of January 2014, five infants were on the liver transplant waiting list and three were awaiting a heart transplant (personal communication with National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)). While infants form only a very small minority on the active transplant waiting list, they are at a significantly higher risk of mortality, with 31% of infants on the cardiac transplant waiting list dying before receiving a transplant.1 Furthermore, infants have the highest mortality of all patients on the liver transplant waiting list.2 The principle reason for this excess mortality is a lack...
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Tags: Liver disease, Pancreas and biliary tract, Urology, Epidemiologic studies, Small intestine, Stomach and duodenum, Immunology (including allergy), Drugs: cardiovascular system, Coma and raised intracranial pressure, Child health, End of life decisions (pal Source Type: research