Anesthesia Management of Organ Donors

Anesthetic Considerations of Organ Procurement After Brain and Cardiac Death: A Narrative Review

Organ donation procedures have become more frequent in the US as the need for transplants is increasing. Defining the anesthesiologist's role in organ donations after brain and cardiac death is important, as is understanding its ethics and practical physiologic and perioperative implications. Despite this, there are few papers specifically addressing the anesthetic management of organ donors. This review summarizes the preoperative, intraoperative, and postmortem considerations for the anesthesiologist involved in organ donation after either brain or cardiac death. A search of the published literature was performed using PubMed, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), and Google Scholar in March of 2022 for articles addressing anesthetic considerations of organ procurement surgeries after brain and cardiac death. This review demonstrates that anesthesiologists play a significant role in the organ procurement process. Their role in the perioperative management of the donor may affect the outcomes of organ transplantation. The gap between the number of organs harvested and the number of patients awaiting organ transplantation remains high despite continued efforts to increase the number of available organs. Perioperative management of organ donors aims at counteracting the associated unique physiologic derangements and targets optimization of oxygenation of the organs intended for procurement. Optimizing care after death can help ensure the viability of organs and the best outcomes for recipients. As organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) becomes more frequent in the US, anesthesiologists should be aware of the DCD classifications of donors and emerging novel perfusion techniques.

[Anaesthesiological management of postmortem organ donors - What Evidence is Out There?]

The transplantation of organs from postmortem organ donors has been a lifesaving and quality-of-life-improving therapy for patients with irreversible organ failure for many years. In Germany, however, there has been an imbalance between the number of organs donated postmortem and the number of patients on the waiting list for years. The anesthesiological management of multiple organ harvesting (MOE) in postmortem organ donors is not an everyday challenge for various reasons: A lack of practical expertise due to the small number of MOE, even at university hospitals (usually < 20 per year), complex pathophysiological changes in the cardiovascular system and other organ functions of the postmortem organ donor and the lack of guidelines complicate anesthesiological management. This paper compiles the existing literature and reviews whether evidence-based recommendations can be derived for anesthesiologic management for MOE.

Anesthetic Considerations in Facial Transplantation: Experience at NYU Langone Health and Systematic Review

Anesthetic considerations are integral to the success of facial transplantation (FT), yet limited evidence exists to guide quality improvement. This study presents an institutional anesthesia protocol, defines reported anesthetic considerations, and provides a comprehensive update to inform future directions of the field.

The Amide Local Anesthetic Ropivacaine Attenuates Acute Rejection After Allogeneic Mouse Lung Transplantation

PURPOSE

Acute allograft rejection after lung transplantation remains an unsolved hurdle. The pathogenesis includes an inflammatory response during and after transplantation. Ropivacaine, an amide-linked local anesthetic, has been shown to attenuate lung injury due to its anti-inflammatory effects. We hypothesized that the drug would also be able to attenuate acute rejection (AR) after allogeneic lung transplantation.

METHODS

Allogeneic, orthotopic, single left lung transplantation was performed between BALB/c (donors) and C57BL/6 (recipients) mice. Prior to explantation, lungs were flushed with normal saline with or without ropivacaine (final concentration 1 µM). Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukins - 6 and - 10 were measured 3 h after transplantation by ELISA. Lung function was assessed on postoperative day five and transplanted lungs were analyzed using histology (AR), immunohistochemistry (infiltrating leukocytes) and Western blot (phosphorylation and expression of Src and caveolin-1).

RESULTS

Ropivacaine pre-treatment significantly reduced AR scores (median 3 [minimum-maximum 2-4] for control vs. 2 [1-2] for ropivacaine, p < 0.001) and plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (p = 0.01) compared to control, whereas plasma concentrations of interleukin - 6 (p = 0.008) and - 10 (p < 0.001) were increased by ropivacaine. The number of T-lymphocytes infiltrating the transplanted lung was attenuated (p = 0.02), while no differences in macrophage or B-lymphocyte numbers could be observed after ropivacaine pre-treatment. Caveolin-1 phosphorylation in ropivacaine-treated lungs was diminished (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-treatment of donor lungs with the local anesthetic ropivacaine diminished histological signs of AR after orthotopic left lung transplantation in mice, most likely due to reduced infiltration of T-lymphocytes into the graft.

The brain-dead donor: An anaesthesiologist's perspective

The brain-dead organ donation programme is slowly gathering momentum in India. There is a long way to go before our cadaver donor numbers, currently at 0.35 per million reaches 35 per million as is the case in countries like Spain. Each donor, therefore, has to be managed immaculately. The anaesthesiologists will be well served by familiarising themselves with the challenges during the crucial period preceding and during the actual harvest of organs in a brain-dead donor. There are significant opportunities for anaesthesiologists to make great contributions in this cause due to their unique skill sets and perspective. A robust brain-dead cadaver programme will go a long way in saving numerous lives as well as reduce the requirements of the living donor programme. A well-managed harvest will ensure good quality organs and an overall superior outcome in the recipients.