Transplant Statistics: Annual Report

Technical Notes and Analytic Methods
Cadaveric and Living Donor Characteristics

Donor tables show frequency counts and percentages for cadaveric and living organ donors by year by selected demographic and medical factors (donor age, race, gender, blood type, cause of death, circumstance of death, mechanism of death, and/or donor relation). Table 1.1 presents counts of donors by organ for cadaveric and living donors. Section 3 presents organ-specific counts and percentages of donors by donor characteristics for cadaveric and living donors.

Cadaveric Donor Characteristics

Cadaveric donor characteristics are presented in the following tables:

• Index 3.1   All Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.2   Kidney Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.3   Pancreas Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.4   Liver Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.5   Intestine Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.6   Heart Donors (Cadaveric)
• Index 3.7   Lung Donors (Cadaveric)

These data are obtained from the OPTN Cadaver Donor Registration (CDR) Form. Only cadaveric donors recovered by U.S. Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are included in these tables. Data are subject to change based on future data submission or correction.

For purposes of this report, a (recovered) cadaveric donor is one from whom at least one vascularized solid organ (kidney, pancreas, liver, intestine, heart, or lung) was recovered for the purposes of organ transplantation, even if the organ was not used for transplant. Organ-specific donors are those from whom at least one organ of that type was recovered. In other words, a kidney donor is one who donated at least one kidney. Hearts recovered for heart valves and pancreata recovered for islet cells are not counted.

Changes made to the data collection forms in April 1994 affected the way cause of death data were collected. Death information is reported in three categories: cause of death, circumstance of death, and mechanism of death. Comparisons across time for these variables are shown from the time that the current coding scheme was in place.

Note that not all recovered organs are actually transplanted. Data tables pertaining to the recovery and disposition of organs are presented in Section 4, Cadaveric Organ Recovery and Disposition.

Living Donor Characteristics

Living donor characteristics are presented in the following tables:

• Index 3.8   All Donors (Living)
• Index 3.9   Kidney Donors (Living)
• Index 3.10   Liver Segment Donors (Living)
• Index 3.11   Lung Lobe Donors (Living)

These data are based solely on OPTN Living Donor Registration Forms and include living donors from whom organs were transplanted in the U.S. between 1991 and 2000. The year of reporting is based on the organ recovery date as reported to the OPTN. Data are subject to change based on future data submission or correction. The numbers of living pancreas, intestine, and heart donors are too small to offer meaningful information, and, therefore, are not presented in detail.

The number of transplants using living donors may be different from the number of living donors. This is because there is a small number of multi-organ living donors and multiple donors for one transplant. For example, a living donor might donate a kidney and pancreas segment; or two living donors might each donate a lung lobe for one transplant procedure.