• Sasa Rajsic, Benedikt Treml, Nicole Innerhofer, Christine Eckhardt, Aleksandra Radovanovic Spurnic, and Robert Breitkopf.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: sasa.rajsic@i-med.ac.at.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2024 Jul 1; 38 (7): 153115381531-1538.

ObjectiveThe mismatch between the demand for and supply of organs for transplantation is steadily growing. Various strategies have been incorporated to improve the availability of organs, including organ use from patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the time of death. However, there is no systematic evidence of the outcome of grafts from these donors.DesignSystematic literature review (Scopus and PubMed, up to October 11, 2023).SettingAll study designs.ParticipantsOrgan recipients from patients on ECMO at the time of death.InterventionOutcome of organ donation from ECMO donors.Measurements And Main ResultsThe search yielded 1,692 publications, with 20 studies ultimately included, comprising 147 donors and 360 organ donations. The most frequently donated organs were kidneys (68%, 244/360), followed by liver (24%, 85/360). In total, 98% (292/299) of recipients survived with a preserved graft function (92%, 319/347) until follow-up within a variable period of up to 3 years.ConclusionOrgan transplantation from donors supported with ECMO at the time of death shows high graft and recipient survival. ECMO could be a suitable approach for expanding the donor pool, helping to alleviate the worldwide organ shortage.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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