Deceased organ donation for transplantation: Challenges and opportunities

Organ transplantation saves thousands of lives every year but the shortage of donors is a major limiting factor to increase transplantation rates. To allow more patients to be transplanted before they die on the waitlist an increase in the number of donors is necessary. Patients with devastating irreversible brain injury, if medically suitable, are potential deceased donors and strategies are needed to successfully convert them into actual donors. Multiple steps in the process of deceased organ donation can be targeted to increase the number of organs suitable for transplant. In this review, after describing this process, we discuss current challenges and potential strategies to expand the pool of deceased donors.