Cadaveric organ procurement: An investigation of a source of kidney shortage

Recent studies have shown that the potential supply of cadaveric kidneys is capable of meeting the increasing demand. Despite these observations, the list of waiting recipients continues to grow due to a lack of transplantable kidneys made available to transplant teams. Current procurement techniques have resulted in minimal organ wastage after the donor nephrectomy is performed, thus focusing attention on the earlier phases of organ procurement. A poor procurement rate - less than 15% of potentially transplantable kidneys are procured - has been attributed to a lack of familial consent and poor donor identification. This study investigates the organ procurement system in an effort to identify the etiology of the current kidney shortage.