Brain Death and Deceased Organ Donation in a Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey: The Effect of Early Identification of Brain Dead on Organ Donation Rates: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: The possibility of brain death (BD) among patients with a Glasgow Coma scale <7 must be considered by physicians who work in intensive care units. Deceased organ transplantation can be lifesaving so every BD patient should be seen as a potential donor. The aim of this study was to describe the causes of BD, rate of organ donation and to investigate the effect of diagnosis time on donation rates in our hospital over a 9-year period.