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Left Digit Bias in Selection and Acceptance of Deceased Donor Organs

C. E. Jacobson1, C. S. Brown2, K. H. Sheetz3, S. A. Waits2

1University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 3Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Meeting: 2022 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: 1323

Keywords: Age factors, Allocation, Donation, Organ Selection/Allocation

Topic: Clinical Science » Public Policy » 21 - Non-Organ Specific: Public Policy & Allocation

Session Information

Session Name: Non-Organ Specific: Public Policy & Allocation

Session Type: Poster Abstract

Date: Monday, June 6, 2022

Session Time: 7:00pm-8:00pm

 Presentation Time: 7:00pm-8:00pm

Location: Hynes Halls C & D

*Purpose: Organs suitable for donation are a scarce resource and maximizing the use of available donor organs is a public health priority. Transplantable organs may currently be going unused due to bias against older donors. We sought to determine whether there is a left digit bias present in donated organs offered and accepted for donors entering a new decade of age, i.e. 70 compared to 69, a bias which has been shown to be important in other domains of healthcare.

*Methods: Potential deceased organ donors (n=105,387) who had any organs offered for transplantation from 2010-2019 Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data were analyzed. Donors were identified 1 year before and after a decade altering birthday. Primary outcomes were whether a potential donor had any organs offered and accepted for transplantation.

*Results: Donors 1 year before (n=2018) and after (n=1585) their 60th and 1 year before (n=705) and after (n=504) their 70th birthday were compared. At age 70 there was a 5.4% decrease in the probability of any organ placement for donors having entered a new decade of life (95% CI 1.1-9.7). There was a decrease of 0.25 organs (95% CI 0.13-0.37) after a donor’s 70th birthday. For potential liver donors at age 70 there was a 5.3% decrease in the probability of organ placement for donors entering a new decade of life (95% CI -0.02-10.7%) and a 7.0% decrease for potential kidney donors (95% CI 0.4-13.6%).

*Conclusions: There was a significant left digit bias in the acceptance of any organs for transplantation at ages 60 and 70 as well as a significant bias in the acceptance of a kidney at age 70. This bias was seen at both selection and acceptance steps in the transplantation process. Targeting this bias is an opportunity to increase the use of potentially transplantable organs in the US and expand the donor pool.

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To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Jacobson CE, Brown CS, Sheetz KH, Waits SA. Left Digit Bias in Selection and Acceptance of Deceased Donor Organs [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2022; 22 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/left-digit-bias-in-selection-and-acceptance-of-deceased-donor-organs/. Accessed June 7, 2025.

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