Transplantation proceedings
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In 2010 Poltransplant organized a national network of donor hospital transplant coordinators involved in the recruitment of potential deceased organ donors. One of the employed coordinators' tasks is monitoring donation potential at hospitals and reporting their results with the use of a tele-information tool www.koordynator.net. ⋯ Based on obtained data from respective hospitals, the analysis showed the following in comparison with data coming from international European study (DOPKI): 1. low frequency of brain death determination procedures in the total number of deaths in Polish hospitals and ICUs, probably also in cases where such mechanism of death has occurred (the discrepancy may reach 1974 cases per year) and 2. high percentage of donations in the total number of brain-dead persons (conversion index), which may be caused by successful authorization of donation and acceptance of risky donors and organs by transplant teams but (what is more probable) may be explained by the ICUs' habit that procedures of brain death protocol is implemented only in cases when donation is expected.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Lung transplantation (LTx) is often the only therapeutic option for patients with end-stage COPD. The aim of the study was to establish whether patients with end-stage COPD benefited from lung transplantation and assess the pulmonary function by the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). ⋯ Qualified patients who underwent lung transplantation lived longer than those who did not undergo such a procedure. We observed a difference in SLT and DLT recipients.