Introduction: Uncontrolled DCD donation is an underutilized method of procurement in the U.S., with 44% of all uncontrolled DCD donors to date being procured by one of 57 OPOs.  The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that uncontrolled DCD organ donation can lead to the successful retrieval of transplantable organs and to evaluate kidney and liver transplant outcomes for recipients of organs from uncontrolled DCD donors.

Methods: This is a retrospective single OPO, multi-center study. As a standard of practice the OPO routinely pursued uncontrolled DCD donors in the setting of hemodynamic instability and/or sudden cardiac arrest. The aggressive pursuit of these types of donors required the OPO to establish the following: an organizational expectation, training, active AOC oversight, a system to rapidly deploy resources, a communication plan with care-giving team members, and 24-hour organ preservation and surgical recovery support. Donor warm ischemic time was determined by the time from patient arrest to cross-clamp with most donors receiving CPR during that interval. Graft survival was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. WIT, age, kidney PNF and DGF were further evaluated by donor Maastricht category.

Results: Between 1996 and 2021, 334 kidneys, 15 livers, 2 pancreata and 1 lung was transplanted from 262 uncontrolled DCD donors. The mean donor age was 33 years (r = 0.5 – 76, sd=15). The median warm ischemic time was 44 minutes (IQR = 22 - 83). Kidney graft survival was 84% at 6 months, 78% at 1 year and 71% at 3 years. Of the 15 livers transplanted, 9 grafts implanted prior to 2010 failed within 3 months, but all 3 of the grafts implanted in 2021 are functioning at 6 months post-transplant. Two of the liver grafts are functioning at 12 years post-transplant and one is functioning at 19 years post-transplant. The lung graft is functioning at 8 years post-transplant.

Conclusions: Uncontrolled DCDs provide acceptable kidney graft survival outcomes and represent a pool of organs that should be pursued for transplantation. OPOs should develop protocols to effectively recover organs from uncontrolled DCDs, particularly in light of promising new advancements in organ preservation.