Utilization and outcomes of organs from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-supported brain-dead donors: two-center experience
Authors' conclusion
ECMO-supported donors can preserve abdominal organ viability and achieve post-transplant recipient survival comparable to conventional DBD donors, although these findings are exploratory given the small sample size and retrospective design.
Study context
- Population
- Consecutive brain-dead organ donors at two tertiary referral centers, January 2012–June 2025
- Participants
- 210 donors
- Exposure
- ECMO-supported vs non-ECMO brain-dead donors
- ECMOn = 25
- non-ECMOn = 185reference
- Outcome
- Organ-specific recovery rates and number of organs recovered per donor
Methodological detailstwo-center, consecutive donors
- Two-center
- Consecutive donors
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Organ-specific recovery rates
- Thoracic organ recovery markedly lower in ECMO group, attributable primarily to underlying cardiopulmonary pathology
- Abdominal organ recovery preserved
- ECMO vs non-ECMO: P < 0.001
- ECMO vs non-ECMO: P < 0.001
- ECMO vs non-ECMO: P = 0.586
- ECMO vs non-ECMO: P = 0.845
- ECMO vs non-ECMO: P = 0.649
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Antecedent cardiac arrest (baseline)
P = 0.001
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Post-transplant recipient survival | P = 0.02 |
- Post-transplant recipient survival: higher survival probability with ECMO-derived livers at late follow-up; hypothesis-generating, small number of events
Post-transplant recipient survival
- Recipient survival comparable across organ types
Original publication
Utilization and outcomes of organs from ECMO-supported brain-dead donors: two-center experience. J Intensive Care. Published 4 September 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →