Objective: Pediatric donation impacts the disparity between organs needed and organs available for transplantation. We evaluated if a regional educational effort on pediatric donation for Pediatric Intensivists and mid-level providers would increase pediatric donation.

Study Design: The Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) Medical Director met with the medical directors of each Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) within the Donation Service Area (DSA) because of decreasing pediatric organ donors.

Meeting objectives included: 1) The OPO asking for more donor management assistance from the PICU staff 2) Invitation to a Pediatric Donor Workshop, and commitment from each PICU to send physician representation 3) Agreement to follow up meetings after the workshop

A one day Workshop took place with presentations on regional OPO data and processes, declaration of neonatal and pediatric brain death, and pediatric deceased donor management goals and strategies. Speakers were two practicing pediatric intensivists nationally recognized as experts in pediatric donation (both Medical Directors in their local OPOs). Each session encouraged open participant discussion to identify and overcome barriers to pediatric donation opportunities.

Results: Representatives from 6 PICUs participated in the one day workshop totaling 15 physicians and 4 nurse practitioners.

Donation data from 12 months prior to, and 12 months following the Conference were compared. In the 12 months prior, there were 82 PICU referrals, 13 pediatric donors (<18 yo), 1 <2 yo, and 56 organ transplants. 12 month post data there were 93 referrals, 22 pediatric donors, 10 donors <2 yo resulting in 84 transplants. This was a 70% increase in pediatric donors (10 fold increase in donors < 2 yo), and a 50% increase in the number of organs transplanted.

Conclusions: Engaging pediatric intensivists in donation processes increased organ donation with more donors and organs transplanted at this DSA. Key initiatives included enhancing knowledge about pediatric donation, communicating OPO pediatric best practice strategies followed by participant discussion of regional pediatric donation barriers. Ongoing evaluation is needed to determine if this collaborative effort between the OPO and the PICUs can sustain donation improvements. We recommend this process be repeated in other DSAs to determine if these successes are reproducible.

CITATION INFORMATION: Lebovitz D, Nakagawa T, Wright C. Pediatric Critical Care Education Impacts Pediatric Organ Donation. Am J Transplant. 2016;16 (suppl 3).

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