The outcome of marginal hearts compared with ideal donors: A single center experience from Iran

Behnam Shakerian, Sanaz Dehghani, Haleh Ashraf, Shahrokh Karbalai, Abbas Soleimani, Atieh Rezaeefar, Zahra Shajari, Hamidreza Hekmat, Marzieh latifi, Azadeh Sadatnaseri ^*.

Abstract

Introduction: Heart transplantation has been considered as gold standard treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure. This study aimed to assess the survival outcome of marginal donor hearts compared with ideal donors in Iran.

Method: This retrospective study is based on heart donors in Sina Hospital Organ Procurement and their recipients follow up. Among 93 participants, 75 were categorized as ideal donors (Group A) and 18 were marginal donors (Group B). To observe possible differences among patient’s characteristics in the groups, the differences of the two groups on post-transplant heart survival was assessed: Also Group C as heart recipients received standard organ; and Group D as heart recipients took marginal one. All data were obtained from the hospital records.

Results: The mean age of the donor was 26.27 ± 11.44 years (median age: 28). There was a significant association between donor ages in the marginal group. Recipient age had significant effect on survival days in ideal group. The survival was at least one year, with a median of 645 days in recipients from marginal donors and 689 days in recipients from ideal donor.

Conclusion: Considering lack of organ availability in Iran, it may be possible to use marginal donors for marginal recipients, therefore we can reduce the number of people on the waitlist. These findings also recommend the need for establishing a national marginal donor’s mechanism appropriate for Iranian patients to extend the donor pool.

Keywords: Heart transplant, graft survival, organ donation, organ transplantation