Identifying Potential Organ Donors Quickly After Unsurvivable Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Use of this validated decision instrument might allow discussions around organ donation to begin earlier.

Patients who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have poor survival rates. Nevertheless, resuscitative efforts can often take hours, and it is only after this that discussions regarding potential organ donation are initiated. While an ever-increasing number of people are noting a willingness to have their organs donated (e.g., on their driver's licenses), the need for donor organs has also continued to rise. Given this, discussions regarding organ donation with the families of patients with unsurvivable OHCA should begin as early as possible.

Researchers reviewed the literature and developed a three-criteria decision instrument to identify patients with unsurvivable OHCA. The criteria are as follows:

OHCA unwitnessed by emergency med…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Identifying Potential Organ Donors Quickly After Unsurvivable Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Topics

Reviewing Author