WorldWideScience

Sample records for assessing donor suitability

  1. Whole-blood donation: blood donor suitability and adverse events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Bruce H

    2004-11-01

    Approximately 3% to 3.5% of the US population donates whole blood each year. Physicians might be approached by a blood donor because of a donor suitability issue, a positive postdonation test, or a donation-related complication. Approximately 83% of blood donors successfully donate; but 13% are rejected because of a donor suitability issue; 1% have a positive test, which is often nonspecific or false-positive; and 2% to 4% of the phlebotomies are not successful. The most common adverse physical events based on donor interviews are bruise (23%), sore arm (10%), fatigue (8%), and vasovagal reaction (7%), while uncommon events include nerve irritation (0.9%), syncope (0.1-0.3%), and arterial puncture (0.01%). One in 3400 donors (0.033%) report seeking outside medical care. Serious injuries occur but are very rare. More often, blood donors do well and feel satisfied with the blood donation experience.

  2. 21 CFR 640.3 - Suitability of donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suitability of donor. 640.3 Section 640.3 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) BIOLOGICS... determination shall be made on the day of collection from the donor by means of medical history, a test for...

  3. 21 CFR 640.63 - Suitability of donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suitability of donor. 640.63 Section 640.63 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) BIOLOGICS... determination shall be made on the day of collection from the donor by means of a medical history, tests, and...

  4. Being Sherlock Holmes: the Internet as a tool for assessing live organ donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bramstedt, Katrina A; Katznelson, Steven

    2009-01-01

    Donor advocacy is a critical feature of live donor transplantation. Donor Advocates and Donor Advocate Teams (DAT) are now routine to the practice of live donor evaluation in the USA. Multidisciplinary in nature, DATs gather both medical and psychosocial information about potential live organ donors and then render a decision as to whether or not these individuals are suitable to participate. Because of the critical ethical and psychosocial concerns about live donation, thorough donor evaluations are essential. Additionally, the information gathered must be accurate, and this requires honest disclosure by the donor candidate. In this paper, we describe how DATs can use various forms of free, public content available on the Internet to aid live donor assessments. In this way, the DAT assumes somewhat of an investigative role; however, this is ethically justified in light of the DAT duty to protect the donor. The protective effect can also spread to the transplant program, in general, when inappropriate donors are excluded from the donation process.

  5. Endothelial keratoplasty using donor tissue not suitable for full-thickness penetrating keratoplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, Rebecca L; Ousley, Paula J; Wall, Jennifer; Hoar, Karen; Stoeger, Chris; Terry, Mark A

    2007-06-01

    To evaluate the use of corneal donor tissue deemed unsuitable for full-thickness penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for use in deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (DLEK) and to compare postoperative results to those of DLEK surgery using donor tissue that is suitable for PK. Small-incision DLEK surgery was performed using 39 donor corneas unsuitable for PK. Thirty-five donors had anterior scars or opacities, 3 donors had pterygia within the 8-mm zone, and 1 had prior LASIK. All donor preparation was completed by manual stromal dissection. The DLEK surgical and postoperative courses were reviewed. Preoperative and 6-month postoperative results of this study group were compared with a control group consisting of the first 55 consecutive small-incision DLEK patients receiving donor corneas that had no criteria excluding them from use in PK. Four eyes in the study group and 1 eye in the control group had the confounding variables of the presence of an anterior-chamber lens or surgical vitrectomy with macular disease in the recipient eye. There was no significant difference in preoperative measurements of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA; P = 0.372), donor endothelial cell density (ECD; P = 0.749), or corneal topography [surface regularity index (SRI), P = 0.485; or surface asymmetry index (SAI), P = 0.154] between the 2 groups. For the patients receiving corneas deemed unacceptable for PK, at 6 months after surgery, the vision (P = 0.002) and corneal topography measurements improved significantly from before surgery (SRI, P < 0.001; SAI, P < 0.001), and there was no significant change in refractive astigmatism (P = 0.240). There was a significant difference in the vision at 6 months postoperatively between the overall study group and the control group, with the mean vision of the study group at 20/56 and the control group at 20/43 (P = 0.015). If eyes with known cystoid macular edema (CME) and vitrectomy are removed from each group, there is no significant

  6. Imaging evaluation of potential donors in living-donor liver transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Low, G.; Wiebe, E.; Walji, A.H.; Bigam, D.L.

    2008-01-01

    Liver transplants, originally obtained from deceased donors, can now be harvested from living donors as well. This technique, called living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT), provides an effective alternative means of liver transplantation and is a method of expanding the donor pool in light of the demand and supply imbalance for organ transplants. Imaging plays an important role in LDLT programmes by providing robust evaluation of potential donors to ensure that only anatomically suitable donors with no significant co-existing pathology are selected and that crucial information that allows detailed preoperative planning is available. Imaging evaluation helps to improve the outcome of LDLT for both donors and recipients, by improving the chances of graft survival and reducing the postoperative complication rate. In this review, we describe the history of LDLT and discuss in detail the application of imaging in donor assessment with emphasis on use of modern computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques

  7. Suitability of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a feed batch operating bio-electrochemical system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fermoso, F.G.; Fernández-Rodríguez, M.J.; Jiménez-Rodríguez, A.; Serrano, A.; Borja, R.

    2017-01-01

    Olive oil washing water derived from the two-phase manufacturing process was assessed as an electron donor in a bio-electrochemical system (BES) operating at 35 ºC. Start-up was carried out by using acetate as a substrate for the BES, reaching a potential of around +680 mV. After day 54, BES was fed with olive oil washing water. The degradation of olive oil washing water in the BES generated a maximum voltage potential of around +520 mV and a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency of 41%. However, subsequent loads produced a decrease in the COD removal, while current and power density diminished greatly. The deterioration of these parameters could be a consequence of the accumulation of recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds, such as phenols. These results demonstrated that the use of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a BES is feasible, although it has to be further investigated in order to make it more suitable for a real application. [es

  8. Suitability of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a feed batch operating bio-electrochemical system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. G. Fermoso

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Olive oil washing water derived from the two-phase manufacturing process was assessed as an electron donor in a bio-electrochemical system (BES operating at 35 ºC. Start-up was carried out by using acetate as a substrate for the BES, reaching a potential of around +680 mV. After day 54, BES was fed with olive oil washing water. The degradation of olive oil washing water in the BES generated a maximum voltage potential of around +520 mV and a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD removal efficiency of 41%. However, subsequent loads produced a decrease in the COD removal, while current and power density diminished greatly. The deterioration of these parameters could be a consequence of the accumulation of recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds, such as phenols. These results demonstrated that the use of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a BES is feasible, although it has to be further investigated in order to make it more suitable for a real application.

  9. Recruitment of feces donors among blood donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl Jørgensen, Simon Mark; Erikstrup, Christian; Dinh, Khoa Manh

    2018-01-01

    As the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has gained momentum, an increasing need for continuous access to healthy feces donors has developed. Blood donors constitute a healthy subset of the general population and may serve as an appropriate group for recruitment. In this study, we...... investigated the suitability of blood donors as feces donors. In a prospective cohort study, we recruited blood donors onsite at a public Danish blood bank. Following their consent, the blood donors underwent a stepwise screening process: First, blood donors completed an electronic pre-screening questionnaire...... to rule out predisposing risk factors. Second, eligible blood donors had blood and fecal samples examined. Of 155 blood donors asked to participate, 137 (88%) completed the electronic pre-screening questionnaire, 16 declined, and 2 were excluded. Of the 137 donors who completed the questionnaire, 79 (58...

  10. Assessment of potential heart donors: A statement from the French heart transplant community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorent, Richard; Gandjbakhch, Estelle; Goéminne, Céline; Ivanes, Fabrice; Sebbag, Laurent; Bauer, Fabrice; Epailly, Eric; Boissonnat, Pascale; Nubret, Karine; Amour, Julien; Vermes, Emmanuelle; Ou, Phalla; Guendouz, Soulef; Chevalier, Philippe; Lebreton, Guillaume; Flecher, Erwan; Obadia, Jean-François; Logeart, Damien; de Groote, Pascal

    2018-02-01

    Assessment of potential donors is an essential part of heart transplantation. Despite the shortage of donor hearts, donor heart procurement from brain-dead organ donors remains low in France, which may be explained by the increasing proportion of high-risk donors, as well as the mismatch between donor assessment and the transplant team's expectations. Improving donor and donor heart assessment is essential to improve the low utilization rate of available donor hearts without increasing post-transplant recipient mortality. This document provides information to practitioners involved in brain-dead donor management, evaluation and selection, concerning the place of medical history, electrocardiography, cardiac imaging, biomarkers and haemodynamic and arrhythmia assessment in the characterization of potential heart donors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gupta Nitin

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Of the various options for patients with end stage renal disease, kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for a suitable patient. The kidney for transplantation is retrieved from either a cadaver or a live donor. Living donor nephrectomy has been developed as a method to address the shortfall in cadaveric kidneys available for transplantation. Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN, by reducing postoperative pain, shortening convalescence, and improving the cosmetic outcome of the donor nephrectomy, has shown the potential to increase the number of living kidney donations further by removing some of the disincentives inherent to donation itself. The technique of LLDN has undergone evolution at different transplant centers and many modifications have been done to improve donor safety and recipient outcome. Virtually all donors eligible for an open surgical procedure may also undergo the laparoscopic operation. Various earlier contraindications to LDN, such as right donor kidney, multiple vessels, anomalous vasculature and obesity have been overcome with increasing experience. Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy can be done transperitoneally or retroperitoneally on either side. The approach is most commonly transperitoneal, which allows adequate working space and easy dissection. A review of literature and our experience with regards to standard approach and the modifications is presented including a cost saving model for the developing countries. An assessment has been made, of the impact of LDN on the outcome of donor and the recipient.

  12. Radiation cytogenetic in vitro studies on human donors in the development of a suitable biological dosimeter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barjaktarovic, N.

    1988-02-01

    The final report is on the work carried out under the Agency research contract 3173/RB entitled ''Radiation cytogenetic in vitro studies on human donors in the development of a suitable biological dosimeter'', at the Clinical Hospital Centre ''Zvezdara'' in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In co-operation and co-ordination dissemination with an international team of cytogeneticists under the IAEA CRP, the development of a suitable biological dosimetry system has been accomplished at the national institute to assist reliably in the absorbed radiation-dose assessment of accidentally-over-exposed personnel. The quantitative yield of asymmetrical chromosomal aberrations, such as dicentrics, rings and fragments consequent to exposure(s) to radiation overdose, help in such estimation of vital prognostic and radiation protection significance. This biological dosimeter system is particularly essential where the exposed person was not wearing any physical dosemeter during the accident. Prerequisite for implementation of an effective biological dosimetry is the availability of a reliable standard dose-response curve and an adherence to a protocol for lymphocytic chromosome analysis in first division phase of lymphocytes. The validation of the reported biological dosimeter is established through its successful analysis of a simulated over-exposure incident, with the associated error of less than 10%. Analytical cytogenetic methods for whole- and part-body acute exposures have been discussed. Part of the results have been reported in the publications under the CRP concerned

  13. Control of charge transfer by conformational and electronic effects: Donor-donor and donor-acceptor phenyl pyrroles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neubauer, Antje; Bendig, Juergen; Rettig, Wolfgang

    2009-01-01

    Derivatives of N-pyrrolobenzene with a para-donor and a para-acceptor substituent on the benzene ring are compared. It is shown that by a suitable increase of the donor strength of the pyrrolo group, CT fluorescence can be achieved even for donor-donor-substituted benzenes. The ICT emission for sterically hindered compounds is more forbidden than that of unhindered phenyl pyrroles. This suggests conformational effects which induce a narrower twist angle distribution around a perpendicular minimum in the excited state.

  14. Prediction of time of death after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in potential donors after cardiac death

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wind, Jentina; Snoeijs, Maarten G. J.; Brugman, Cees A.; Vervelde, Janneke; Zwaveling, Janharm; van Mook, Walther N.; van Heurn, Ernest L.

    Objective: Organ donation after cardiac death increases the number of donor organs. In controlled donation after cardiac death donors, the period between withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and cardiac arrest is one of the parameters used to assess whether organs are suitable for

  15. Prediction of time of death after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in potential donors after cardiac death

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wind, Jentina; Snoeijs, Maarten G. J.; Brugman, Cees A.; Vervelde, Janneke; Zwaveling, Janharm; van Mook, Walther N.; van Heurn, Ernest L.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: Organ donation after cardiac death increases the number of donor organs. In controlled donation after cardiac death donors, the period between withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and cardiac arrest is one of the parameters used to assess whether organs are suitable for

  16. Assessment of Climate Suitability of Maize in South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyun, S.; Choi, D.; Seo, B.

    2017-12-01

    Assessing suitable areas for crops would be useful to design alternate cropping systems as an adaptation option to climate change adaptation. Although suitable areas could be identified by using a crop growth model, it would require a number of input parameters including cultivar and soil. Instead, a simple climate suitability model, e.g., EcoCrop model, could be used for an assessment of climate suitability for a major grain crop. The objective of this study was to assess of climate suitability for maize using the EcoCrop model under climate change conditions in Korea. A long term climate data from 2000 - 2100 were compiled from weather data source. The EcoCrop model implemented in R was used to determine climate suitability index at each grid cell. Overall, the EcoCrop model tended to identify suitable areas for maize production near the coastal areas whereas the actual major production areas located in inland areas. It is likely that the discrepancy between assessed and actual crop production areas would result from the socioeconomic aspects of maize production. Because the price of maize is considerably low, maize has been grown in an area where moisture and temperature conditions would be less than optimum. In part, a simple algorithm to predict climate suitability for maize would caused a relatively large error in climate suitability assessment under the present climate conditions. In 2050s, the climate suitability for maize increased in a large areas in southern and western part of Korea. In particular, the plain areas near the coastal region had considerably greater suitability index in the future compared with mountainous areas. The expansion of suitable areas for maize would help crop production policy making such as the allocation of rice production area for other crops due to considerably less demand for the rice in Korea.

  17. A nutritional and metabolic assessment of a cardiopulmonary bypass technique without donor blood

    OpenAIRE

    東,良平

    1993-01-01

    A nutritional and metabolic assessment of a cardiopulmonary bypass technique without donor blood was made in 23 patients undergoing open heart surgery (non-donor blood group). For comparison, 14 patients receiving cardiopulmonary bypass with donor blood prime (donor blood group) were also evaluated. 1)Serum transferrin level showed significantly more rapid recovery in the non-donor blood group compared to the donor blood group on the 7th post operative day. 2)Total protein, serum albumin, arm...

  18. Correlation between donor age and organs transplanted per donor: our experience in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashikari, J; Omiya, K; Konaka, S; Nomoto, K

    2014-05-01

    The shortage of available organs for transplantation is a worldwide issue. To maximize the number of transplantations, increasing the number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) is widely recognized as an important factor for improving the shortage. In Japan, we have had 211 donors, 1112 organs transplanted, and 924 recipients receiving the transplants, resulting in 4.4 ± 1.4 recipients receiving transplants per donor and 5.3 ± 1.6 OTPD as of February 2013. Because donor age is a well-recognized factor of donor suitability, we analyzed the correlation between donor age group and OTPD. Only the age group 60 to 69 years and the age group 70 to 79 years were significantly different (P donor under age 70 years has the potential to donate 4.6 to 6.7 organs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Heart transplantation from older donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. N. Poptsov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the current situation of the shortage of suitable donor organs, heart transplantation from older donors is one of the ways to increase the performance of more heart transplants, particularly, in patients with urgent need of transplantation. While planning a heart transplantation from older donor one should consider increased risk of early cardiac allograft dysfunction, preexisting coronary artery disease, accelerated transplant vasculopathy which may adversely affect early and long-term survival of recipients. Subject to careful selection of donor–recipient pairs, effective prevention and treatment of early cardiac allograft dysfunction, pre-existing atherosclerosis and transplant vasculopathy the early and long-term survival of heart transplant recipients from older donors is comparable to heart transplantation from young donors.

  20. Preliminary geological suitability assessment for LILW disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomse, P.; Mele, I.

    2001-01-01

    Due to the growing need for a final disposal of LILW, the final solution for the short-lived LILW is the key issue of radioactive waste management in Slovenia at the moment. ARAO - the Slovenian Agency for Radwaste Management - is intensely involved in the re-initiated site selection process for a LILW repository. In this new process we are trying to combine as best as possible the technical, geologically-led and the advocacy-site selection processes. By a combination of technical and volunteer approach to the site selection we wish to guarantee high public involvement and sufficient flexibility of the process to adapt to specific conditions or new circumstances while the project is ongoing. In the technical phase, our tendency is to retain a larger number of potential areas/sites. We also keep open the possibility of choosing the type of repository. The decision between the surface and underground option will be made only once the site has been defined. In accordance with the IAEA recommendations the site selection process is divided into four stages: the conceptual and planning stage, area survey stage, site characterisation stage and site confirmation stage. Last year the area survey stage was started. In the preliminary geological suitability assessment the required natural predisposition of Slovene territory was assessed in order to locate geologically suitable formations. The assessment of natural conditions of the system was based on consideration of the main geological, hydro-geological and seismotectonic conditions. It was performed with ARC/INFO technology. The results are compiled in a map, showing potential areas for underground and surface disposal of LILW in Slovenia. It has been established that there is a potential suitability for both surface and underground disposal on about 10 000 km 2 of the Slovenian territory, which represents almost half of the entire Slovenian territory. These preliminary results are now being carefully re-examined. As an

  1. Land Suitability Assessment for Pineapple Production in the A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    linking land resources assessment to any land use decision-making process. like elsewhere, land ... managers as decision-support tools, for instance, to outline the most suitable land areas for subsidy ...... increase rational decisions. In this ..... essentially dynamic. it is pertinent that land suitability analysis is framed within an ...

  2. Anesthesia Management of Organ Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Victor W; Braunfeld, Michelle

    2017-09-01

    The shortage of suitable organs is the biggest obstacle for transplants. At present, most organs for transplant in the United States are from donation after neurologic determination of death (brain death). Potential organs for transplant need to maintain their viability during a series of insults, including the original disease, physiologic derangements during the dying process, ischemia, and reperfusion. Proper donor management before, during, and after procurement has potential to increase the number and quality of organs from donors. Anesthesiologists need to understand the physiologic derangements associated with brain death and the updated donor management during the periprocurement period. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Capillary versus Venous Hemoglobin Determination in the Assessment of Healthy Blood Donors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Abhilasha J.; Wesley, Robert; Leitman, Susan F.; Bryant, Barbara J.

    2013-01-01

    Background and Objectives To determine the accuracy of fingerstick hemoglobin assessment in blood donors, the performance of a portable hemoglobinometer (HemoCue Hb 201+) was prospectively compared with that of an automated hematology analyzer (Cell-Dyn 4000). Hemoglobin values obtained by the latter were used as the “true” result. Material and Methods Capillary fingerstick samples were assayed by HemoCue in 150 donors. Fingerstick samples from two sites, one on each hand, were obtained from a subset of 50 subjects. Concurrent venous samples were tested using both HemoCue and Cell-Dyn devices. Results Capillary hemoglobin values (HemoCue) were significantly greater than venous hemoglobin values (HemoCue), which in turn were significantly greater than venous hemoglobin values by Cell-Dyn (mean ± SD: 14.05 ± 1.51, 13.89 ± 1.31, 13.62 ± 1.23, respectively; phemoglobin screening criteria (≥12.5 g/dL) by capillary HemoCue, but were deferred by Cell-Dyn values (false-pass). Five donors (3%) were deferred by capillary sampling, but passed by Cell-Dyn (false-fail). Substantial variability in repeated fingerstick HemoCue results was seen (mean hemoglobin 13.72 vs. 13.70 g/dL, absolute mean difference between paired samples 0.76 g/dL). Hand dominance was not a factor. Conclusions Capillary samples assessed via a portable device yielded higher hemoglobin values than venous samples assessed on an automated analyzer. False-pass and false-fail rates were low and acceptable in the donor screening setting, with “true” values not differing by a clinically significant degree from threshold values used to assess acceptability for blood donation. PMID:23294266

  4. Children as donors: a national study to assess procurement of organs and tissues in pediatric intensive care units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siebelink, Marion J; Albers, Marcel J I J; Roodbol, Petrie F; Van de Wiel, Harry B M

    2012-12-01

    A shortage of size-matched organs and tissues is the key factor limiting transplantation in children. Empirical data on procurement from pediatric donors is sparse. This study investigated donor identification, parental consent, and effectuation rates, as well as adherence to the national protocol. A national retrospective cohort study was conducted in all eight Dutch pediatric intensive care units. Records of deceased children were analyzed by an independent donation officer. Seventy-four (11%) of 683 deceased children were found to be suitable for organ donation and 132 (19%) for tissue donation. Sixty-two (84%) potential organ donors had been correctly identified; the parental consent and effectuation rate was 42%. Sixty-three (48%) potential tissue donors had been correctly identified; the parental consent and effectuation rate was 27%. Correct identification increased with age (logistic regression, organs: P = .024; tissues: P = .011). Although an overall identification rate of 84% of potential organ donors may seem acceptable, the variation observed suggests room for improvement, as does the overall low rate of identification of pediatric tissue donors. Efforts to address the shortage of organs and tissues for transplantation in children should focus on identifying potential donors and on the reasons why parents do not consent. © 2012 The Authors. Transplant International © 2012 European Society for Organ Transplantation.

  5. Computerized Assessment of Competence-Related Abilities in Living Liver Donors: The Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study (A2ALL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Jason; Emond, Jean; Gillespie, Brenda W.; Appelbaum, Paul S.; Weinrieb, Robert; Hill-Callahan, Peg; Gordon, Elisa J.; Terrault, Norah; Trotter, James; Ashworth, April; Dew, Mary Amanda; Pruett, Timothy

    2014-01-01

    Background Despite its importance, determination of competence to consent to organ donation varies widely based on local standards. We piloted a new tool to aid transplant centers in donor assessment. Methods We assessed competence-related abilities among potential living liver donors (LDs) in the 9-center A2ALL study. Prospective LDs viewed an educational video, and were queried to assess Understanding, Appreciation, Reasoning, and ability to express a Final Choice using the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research, adapted for computerized administration in LDs (“MacLiver”). Videotaped responses were scored by a clinical neuropsychologist (JF). Results Ninety-three LDs were assessed. Mean (standard deviation; domain maximum) scores were: Understanding: 18.1 (2.6; max=22), Appreciation: 5.1 (1.0; max=6), Reasoning: 3.1 (0.8; max=4), and Final Choice: 3.8 (0.5; max=4). Scores did not differ by demographics, relationship to the recipient, eligibility to donate, or eventual donation (p>0.4). Higher education was associated with greater Understanding (p=0.004) and Reasoning (p=0.03). Conclusion Standardized, computerized education with independent ratings of responses may (1) alert the clinical staff to potential donors who may not be competent to donate, and (2) highlight areas needing further assessment and education, leading to better informed decision-making. PMID:23859354

  6. The science of Stewardship: due diligence for kidney donors and kidney function in living kidney donation--evaluation, determinants, and implications for outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poggio, Emilio D; Braun, William E; Davis, Connie

    2009-10-01

    Living kidney donor transplantation is now a common treatment for ESRD because it provides excellent outcomes to transplant recipients and is considered a safe procedure for prospective donors. The short- and long-term safety of prospective donors is paramount to the continued success of this procedure. Whereas the initial experiences with living kidney donors mostly included the healthiest, the increase in the need for organs and the changing demographic characteristics of the general population have subtly reshaped the suitability for donation. Kidney function assessment is a critical component of the evaluation of prospective donors; therefore, special emphasis is usually placed on this aspect of the evaluation. At the same time, consideration of kidney function after donation is important because it assists with the determination of renal health in donors. This review summarizes the process of predonation kidney function assessment, determinants of pre- and postdonation renal function, and, importantly, the potential implications of kidney function to the long-term outcomes of kidney donors.

  7. Frequency of adverse events in plateletpheresis donors in regional transfusion centre in North India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patidar, Gopal Kumar; Sharma, Ratti Ram; Marwaha, Neelam

    2013-10-01

    Although automated cell separators have undergone a lot of technical refinements, attention has been focused on the quality of platelet concentrates than on donor safety. We planned this prospective study to look into donor safety aspect by studying adverse events in normal healthy plateletpheresis donors. The study included 500 healthy, first-time (n=301) and repeat (n=199) plateletpheresis donors after informed consent. The plateletpheresis procedures were performed on Trima Accel (5.1 version, GAMBRO BCT) and Amicus (3.2 version FENWAL) cell separators. The adverse events during procedure were recorded and classified according to their nature. The pre and post procedure hematological and biochemical profiles of these donors were also assessed with the help of automated cell counter and analyser respectively. A total of 18% (n=90) adverse events were recorded in 500 plateletpheresis donors, of which 9% of were hypocalcaemia in nature followed by hematoma (7.4%), vasovagal reaction (0.8%) and kit related adverse events in (0.8%). There was significant post procedure drop in Hb, Hct, platelet count of the donors (padverse events in Trima Accel (5.1 version, GAMBRO BCT) and Amicus (3.2 version FENWAL) cell separators. Donor reactions can adversely affect the voluntary donor recruitment strategies to increase the public awareness regarding constant need for blood and blood products. Commonly observed adverse events in plateletpheresis donors were hypocalcemia, hematoma formation and vasovagal reactions which can be prevented by pre-donation education of the donors and change of machine configuration. Nevertheless, more prospective studies on this aspect are required in order to establish guidelines for donor safety in apheresis and also to help in assessing donor suitability, especially given the present trend of double product apheresis collections. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Guidelines for the assessment and acceptance of potential brain-dead organ donors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westphal, Glauco Adrieno; Garcia, Valter Duro; de Souza, Rafael Lisboa; Franke, Cristiano Augusto; Vieira, Kalinca Daberkow; Birckholz, Viviane Renata Zaclikevis; Machado, Miriam Cristine; de Almeida, Eliana Régia Barbosa; Machado, Fernando Osni; Sardinha, Luiz Antônio da Costa; Wanzuita, Raquel; Silvado, Carlos Eduardo Soares; Costa, Gerson; Braatz, Vera; Caldeira Filho, Milton; Furtado, Rodrigo; Tannous, Luana Alves; de Albuquerque, André Gustavo Neves; Abdala, Edson; Gonçalves, Anderson Ricardo Roman; Pacheco-Moreira, Lúcio Filgueiras; Dias, Fernando Suparregui; Fernandes, Rogério; Giovanni, Frederico Di; de Carvalho, Frederico Bruzzi; Fiorelli, Alfredo; Teixeira, Cassiano; Feijó, Cristiano; Camargo, Spencer Marcantonio; de Oliveira, Neymar Elias; David, André Ibrahim; Prinz, Rafael Augusto Dantas; Herranz, Laura Brasil; de Andrade, Joel

    2016-01-01

    Organ transplantation is the only alternative for many patients with terminal diseases. The increasing disproportion between the high demand for organ transplants and the low rate of transplants actually performed is worrisome. Some of the causes of this disproportion are errors in the identification of potential organ donors and in the determination of contraindications by the attending staff. Therefore, the aim of the present document is to provide guidelines for intensive care multi-professional staffs for the recognition, assessment and acceptance of potential organ donors. PMID:27737418

  9. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography: evaluation of renal arteries in living renal transplant donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Firat, Ali; Akin, Oguz; Muhtesem Agildere, Ahmet; Aytekin, Cuneyt; Haberal, Mehmet

    2004-01-01

    One of the most important steps before living-donor nephrectomy is assessment of renal vascular anatomy. The number, origins and lengths of the renal arteries and variations of renal veins must be determined in order to identify the kidney that is most suitable for transplantation. Digital subtraction angiography was long considered the standard procedure for this purpose, but this method has been replaced by non-invasive techniques. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography is an accurate, safe and reliable method for imaging vasculature. This article reviews the technique and the clinical features of this method in the evaluation of living renal transplant donors

  10. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography: evaluation of renal arteries in living renal transplant donors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Firat, Ali; Akin, Oguz; Muhtesem Agildere, Ahmet; Aytekin, Cuneyt; Haberal, Mehmet

    2004-10-01

    One of the most important steps before living-donor nephrectomy is assessment of renal vascular anatomy. The number, origins and lengths of the renal arteries and variations of renal veins must be determined in order to identify the kidney that is most suitable for transplantation. Digital subtraction angiography was long considered the standard procedure for this purpose, but this method has been replaced by non-invasive techniques. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography is an accurate, safe and reliable method for imaging vasculature. This article reviews the technique and the clinical features of this method in the evaluation of living renal transplant donors.

  11. Risk factors for complications in donors at first and repeat whole blood donation: a cohort study with assessment of the impact on donor return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiersum-Osselton, Johanna C; Marijt-van der Kreek, Tanneke; Brand, Anneke; Veldhuizen, Ingrid; van der Bom, Johanna G; de Kort, Wim

    2014-01-01

    First-time donation is among recognised risk factors for vasovagal reactions to blood donation and reactions are known to reduce donor return. We assessed associations between potential risk factors and vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications in first-time whole blood donation in comparison to repeat donation and analysed the impact of complications on donor return. We performed a cohort study on whole blood donations in The Netherlands from 1/1/2010 to 31/12/2010 using data extracted from the blood service information system. Donation data up to 31/12/2011 were used to ascertain donor return. In 2010 28,786 donors made first whole blood donations and there were 522,958 repeat donations. Vasovagal reactions occurred in 3.9% of first donations by males and 3.5% of first donations by females compared to in 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively, of repeat donations. Associations of vasovagal reactions with other factors including age, body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were similar in first-time and repeat donors. Needle-related complications occurred in 0.2% of male and 0.5% of female first-time donations and in 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, of repeat donations. Among first-time donors, the return rate within 1 year was 82% following an uncomplicated first donation, but 55% and 61% following vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications, respectively; the corresponding percentages among repeat donors were 86%, 58% and 82%. Among first-time donors, females suffered less than males from vasovagal reactions. Other risk factors had similar associations among first-time and repeat donors. Vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications in both first-time and repeat donors are followed by reduced donor return.

  12. A New Approximate Chimera Donor Cell Search Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holst, Terry L.; Nixon, David (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to develop chimera-based full potential methodology which is compatible with overflow (Euler/Navier-Stokes) chimera flow solver and to develop a fast donor cell search algorithm that is compatible with the chimera full potential approach. Results of this work included presenting a new donor cell search algorithm suitable for use with a chimera-based full potential solver. This algorithm was found to be extremely fast and simple producing donor cells as fast as 60,000 per second.

  13. Are drowned donors marginal donors? A single pediatric center experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumm, Kayla R; Galván, N Thao N; Koohmaraie, Sarah; Rana, Abbas; Kueht, Michael; Baugh, Katherine; Hao, Liu; Yoeli, Dor; Cotton, Ronald; O'Mahony, Christine A; Goss, John A

    2017-09-01

    Drowning, a common cause of death in the pediatric population, is a potentially large donor pool for OLT. Anecdotally, transplant centers have deemed these organs high risk over concerns for infection and graft dysfunction. We theorized drowned donor liver allografts do not portend worse outcomes and therefore should not be excluded from the donation pool. We reviewed our single-center experience of pediatric OLTs between 1988 and 2015 and identified 33 drowned donor recipients. These OLTs were matched 1:2 to head trauma donor OLTs from our center. A chart review assessed postoperative peak AST and ALT, incidence of HAT, graft and recipient survival. Recipient survival at one year between patients with drowned donor vs head trauma donor allografts was not statistically significant (94% vs 97%, P=.63). HAT incidence was 6.1% in the drowned donor group vs 7.6% in the control group (P=.78). Mean postoperative peak AST and ALT was 683 U/L and 450 U/L for drowned donors vs 1119 U/L and 828 U/L in the matched cohort. These results suggest drowned donor liver allografts do not portend worse outcomes in comparison with those procured from head trauma donors. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Suitability of voltage stability study methods for real-time assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez, Angel; Jóhannsson, Hjörtur; Vancraeyveld, Pieter

    2013-01-01

    This paper analyzes the suitability of existing methods for long-term voltage stability assessment for real-time operation. An overview of the relevant methods is followed with a comparison that takes into account the accuracy, computational efficiency and characteristics when used for security...... assessment. The results enable an evaluation of the run time of each method with respect to the number of inputs. Furthermore, the results assist in identifying which of the methods is most suitable for realtime operation in future power system with production based on fluctuating energy sources....

  15. EXPERT MODEL OF LAND SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Đurđević

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available A total of 17404 soil samples (2003rd-2009th year were analysed in the eastern Croatia. The largest number of soil samples belongs to the Osijek-Baranya county, which together with both Eastern sugar beet Factories (Osijek and Županja, conduct the soil fertility control (~4200 samples/yr.. Computer model suitability assessment for crops, supported by GIS, proved to be fast, efficient enough reliable in terms of the number of analyzed soil samples. It allows the visualization of the agricultural area and prediction of its production properties for the purposes of analysis, planning and rationalization of agricultural production. With more precise data about the soil (soil, climate and reliable Digital Soil Map of Croatia, the model could be an acceptable, not only to evaluate the suitability for growing different crops but also their need for fertilizer, necessary machinery, repairs (liming, and other measures of organic matter input. The abovementioned aims to eliminate or reduce effects of limiting factors in primary agricultural production. Assessment of the relative benefits of soil presented by computer model for the crops production and geostatistical method kriging in the Osijek-Baranya county showed: 1 Average soil suitability being 60.06 percent. 2 Kriging predicted that 51751 ha (17.16% are of limited resources (N1 for growing crops whereas a 86142 ha (28.57% of land is limited suitably (S3, b 132789 ha (44.04% are moderately suitable (S2 and c 30772 ha (10.28% are of excellent fertility (S1. A large number of eastern Croatian land data showed that the computer-geostatistical model for determination of soil benefits for growing crops was automated, fast and simple to use and suitable for the implementation of GIS and automatically downloading the necessary benefit indicators from the input base (land, analytical and climate as well as data from the digital soil maps able to: a visualize the suitability for soil tillage, b predict the

  16. Multidetector CT angiography in living donor renal transplantation: accuracy and discrepancies in right venous anatomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, S; Emre, S; Arvelakis, A; Asch, W; Bia, M; Formica, R; Israel, G

    2011-01-01

    Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography is a reliable technique for assessing pre-operative renal anatomy in living kidney donors. The method has largely evolved into protocols that eliminate dedicated venous phase and instead utilize a combined arterial/venous phase to delineate arterial and venous anatomy simultaneously. Despite adoption of this protocol, there has been no study to assess its accuracy. To assess whether or not MDCT angiography compares favorably to intra-operative findings, 102 donors underwent MDCT angiography without a dedicated venous phase with surgical interpretation of renal anatomy. Anatomical variants included multiple arteries (12%), multiple veins (7%), early arterial bifurcation (13%), late venous confluence (5%), circumaortic renal veins (5%), retroaortic vein (1%), and ureteral duplication (2%). The sensitivity and specificity of multiple arterial anomalies were 100% and 97%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of multiple venous anomalies were 92% and 98%, respectively. The most common discrepancy was noted exclusively in the interpretation of right venous anatomy as it pertained to the renal vein/vena cava confluence (3%). MDCT angiography using a combined arterial/venous contrast-enhanced phase provides suitable depiction of renal donor anatomy. Careful consideration should be given when planning a right donor nephrectomy whether the radiographic interpretation is suggestive of a late confluence. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  17. [Preoperative assessment of renal vascular anatomy for donor nephrectomy: Is CT superior to MRI?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arvin-Berod, A; Bricault, I; Terrier, N; Skowron, O; Cadi, P; Boillot, B; Thuillier, C; Cluze, C; Descotes, J-L; Rambeaud, J-J; Long, J-A

    2011-01-01

    computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) are both used in the preoperative assessment of vascular anatomy before donor nephrectomy. Our objective was to determine retrospectively and to compare the sensitivity of CTA and MRA imaging in preoperative renal vascularisation in living kidney donors. between 1999 and 2007, 42 kidney donors were assessed in our center: 27 by MRA, 10 by CTA, and five by both techniques. Images were interpreted using multiplanar reconstructions. Results were compared retrospectively with peroperative findings; discordant cases were re-examined by an experienced radiologist. Numbers of vessels detected with imaging methods was compared with numbers actually found at the operating time. MRA showed 35/43 arteries (Se 81.4 %) and 33/34 veins (Se 97.1 %), and CTA showed 18/18 arteries (Se 100 %) and 15/16 veins (Se 93.8 %). The presence of multiple arteries was detected in only one third of cases (3/9) on MRI scans; this difference was statistically significant. The missed arteries were not detected on second examination of the MRI scans with the knowledge of peroperative findings. MRA is less sensitive than CTA for preoperative vascularisation imaging in living renal donors, especially in the detection of multiple renal arteries. 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Use of body and beard donor hair in surgical treatment of androgenic alopecia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arvind Poswal

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Follicular unit transplant is a widely used surgical treatment for androgenic alopecia. However, for patients with extensive hair loss (Norwood 5 and above, scalp donor hair are not sufficient to cover all areas of baldness. This study aims to assess suitability of beard and body donor hair when transplanted to the scalp. Materials and Methods: In 35 male patients having varying degrees of androgenic alopecia, body and beard donor hair were extracted by follicular unit extraction method (under local anesthesia. They were transplanted in different locations of the scalp. Follow-up was carried out at various intervals (6 months to 2 years. The hairs were observed for colour, curl and calibre. Results: In all the patients, there was no change in the colour, curl or calibre of the transplanted body/beard hair. They maintained the same characteristics as in their original location. Conclusion: Body and beard hair can be used as additional donor resource for treating androgenic alopecia. These hairs, however, do not change their colour, curl, and shaft diameter (calibre. Thus, proper planning is a must when using the different types of donor hair for transplanting.

  19. Anonymous living liver donation: donor profiles and outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichman, T W; Fox, A; Adcock, L; Wright, L; Abbey, S E; Levy, G; Grant, D R

    2010-09-01

    There are no published series of the assessment process, profiles and outcomes of anonymous, directed or nondirected live liver donation. The outcomes of 29 consecutive potential anonymous liver donors at our center were assessed. We used our standard live liver assessment process, augmented with the following additional acceptance criteria: a logical rationale for donation, a history of social altruism, strong social supports and a willingness to maintain confidentiality of patient information. Seventeen potential donors were rejected and 12 donors were ultimately accepted (six male, six female). All donors were strongly motivated by a desire and sense of responsibility to help others. Four donations were directed toward recipients who undertook media appeals. The donor operations included five left lateral segmentectomies and seven right hepatectomies. The overall donor morbidity was 40% with one patient having a transient Clavien level 3 complication (a pneumothorax). All donors are currently well. None expressed regret about their decision to donate, and all volunteered the opinion that donation had improved their lives. The standard live liver donor assessment process plus our additional requirements appears to provide a robust assessment process for the selection of anonymous live liver donors. Acceptance of anonymous donors enlarges the donor liver pool. © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  20. Donor disc attachment assessment with intraoperative spectral optical coherence tomography during descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward Wylegala

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Optical coherence tomography has already been proven to be useful for pre- and post-surgical anterior eye segment assessment, especially in lamellar keratoplasty procedures. There is no evidence for intraoperative usefulness of optical coherence tomography (OCT. We present a case report of the intraoperative donor disc attachment assessment with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in case of Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK surgery combined with corneal incisions. The effectiveness of the performed corneal stab incisions was visualized directly by OCT scan analysis. OCT assisted DSAEK allows the assessment of the accuracy of the Descemet stripping and donor disc attachment.

  1. Suitability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bokdam, J.; Braeckel, van A.

    2002-01-01

    The suitability of grazing, burning, mowing and cutting as tools for succession control in peatland was assessed and expressed on a scale from 0 - 1. All management tools are suitable, but their effects are conditional. The suitability depends on the targeted vegetation transition and on their

  2. Assessment in Action : Assessing and Displaying Suitability for Adoptive Parenthood through Text and Talk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noordegraaf, M.

    2008-01-01

    'Assessment in action' is an ethnographical conversation analysis of how suitability for adoptive parenthood is assessed in institutional interaction. It is about talking with clients and transforming this talk into documents. Conversations and texts are submitted to a sentence by sentence analysis

  3. Land Suitability Assessment for Sugarcane in "Herois de Caxito" (Angola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baert, G.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The suitability of the soils surrounding the sugarcane plantation at "Herois de Caxito" (7068 ha is assessed. The main goal is to identify land suitability for the enlargement of the present plantation, using FAO land evaluation models (modified to suit Herois de Caxito conditions and GIS. Calculations of the radiationthermal production potential (RPP, land production potential (LPP, irrigation suitability index, and evaluation of the irrigation water quality are done. The water-limited production potential (WPP is found equal to the RPP, because water needs were fully met under irrigation. Maps showing the spatial distribution of the LPP and the suitability for irrigation are generated. The matching of irrigation and fertility indices has shown that, about 40% of the soils with good fertility for sugarcane production present low suitability for irrigation, the main limitations being the very fine texture and the drainage. The available surface water at Herois de Caxito (Dande river is of very good quality for irrigation of sugarcane.

  4. Computer Algorithms in the Search for Unrelated Stem Cell Donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Steiner

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT is a medical procedure in the field of hematology and oncology, most often performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow. A lot of patients have no suitable HLA-matched donor within their family, so physicians must activate a “donor search process” by interacting with national and international donor registries who will search their databases for adult unrelated donors or cord blood units (CBU. Information and communication technologies play a key role in the donor search process in donor registries both nationally and internationaly. One of the major challenges for donor registry computer systems is the development of a reliable search algorithm. This work discusses the top-down design of such algorithms and current practice. Based on our experience with systems used by several stem cell donor registries, we highlight typical pitfalls in the implementation of an algorithm and underlying data structure.

  5. Decision-making and risk-assessment in living liver donation: how informed is the informed consent of donors? A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papachristou, Christina; Walter, Marc; Marc, Walter; Frommer, Joerg; Frommer, Jeorg; Klapp, Burghard F

    2010-01-01

    The practice of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been increasing over the past 20 years. In LDLT, a healthy individual offers a substantial part of his or her liver (up to 60%) for the benefit of a terminally-ill recipient. The aim of the study was to identify decision-making and risk-assessment patterns of living liver donors and assess whether the principles of informed consent and decision autonomy are being met. The authors conducted semistructured clinical interviews with 28 donors before transplantation. The authors found that a decision was being reached before a decision-making process could take place. Surgery risks were perceived and processed in different ways, including the factors of risk-awareness, denial, limited acceptance, and fatalism. The authors assess concepts of informed consent and decision autonomy in LDLT, and offer suggestions for donor selection.

  6. Establishment of an oocyte donor program. Donor screening and selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quigley, M M; Collins, R L; Schover, L R

    1991-01-01

    IVF with donated oocytes, followed by embryo placement in the uterus of a recipient who has been primed with exogenous steroids, is a successful treatment for special cases of infertility. Preliminary results indicate that the success rate in this situation is even greater than that usually seen with normal IVF (with placement of the embryos back into the uteri of the women from whom the oocytes were recovered). Although different sources for donated oocytes have been identified, the use of "excess" oocytes from IVF cycles and the attempted collection of oocytes at the time of otherwise indicated pelvic surgery have ethical and practical problems associated with their use. We have herein described the establishment of a successful program relying on anonymous volunteers who go through ovarian stimulation, monitoring, and oocyte recovery procedures solely to donate oocytes. The potential donors go through an exhaustive screening and education process before they are accepted in the program. Psychological evaluation of our potential donors indicated a great degree of turmoil in their backgrounds and a wide variety of motivations for actually participating. Despite the extensive educational and screening process, a substantial percentage of the donors did not complete a donation cycle, having either voluntarily withdrawn or been dropped because of lack of compliance. Further investigation of the psychological aspects of participating in such a program is certainly warranted. The use of donated oocytes to alleviate specific types of infertility is quite successful, but the application of this treatment is likely to be limited by the relative unavailability of suitable oocyte donors.

  7. Suitability assessment of building energy saving technologies for office buildings in cold areas of China based on an assessment framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geng, Geng; Wang, Zhaoxia; Zhao, Jing; Zhu, Neng

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • An assessment method considering economy, environment and technology is proposed. • Office buildings are classified into 3 types and weights are calculated respectively. • BESTs were summed up as 3 suitability levels. • Recommendations are proposed for adopting in design stage. - Abstract: Blind application and extensive copy of building energy saving technologies have been found very common through investigation in China. Emphases should be put on the suitability assessment when selecting and optimizing building energy saving technologies. This paper created an assessment method, namely an assessment framework to assess the suitability level of building energy saving technologies from a holistic point of view. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was adopted. 3 factors and 8 sub-factors were included in the framework. The office buildings were classified into 3 types to calculate weights of factors and sub-factors. The assessment framework was established for each type of office buildings. 20 energy saving technologies from surveyed cases was selected as case study. Ranks of suitability level of the assessment objects were obtained for each type of office buildings. The assessment results could be referred when selecting building energy saving technologies in the design stage

  8. Organ donor shortage in the Netherlands; Definition of the potential donor pool and the role of family refusal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frazer-Jansen, N.E.

    2012-01-01

    The shortage of post-mortem organ donors in the Netherlands is a prominent problem for patients on the waiting list for organ transplantation. As long as there is a shortage of suitable organs for transplantation, the need to identify bottlenecks in the organ donation process is crucial to further

  9. Change in donor profile influenced the percentage of organs transplanted from multiple organ donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meers, C; Van Raemdonck, D; Van Gelder, F; Van Hees, D; Desschans, B; De Roey, J; Vanhaecke, J; Pirenne, J

    2009-03-01

    We hypothesized that the change in donor profile over the years influenced the percentage of transplantations. We reviewed medical records for all multiple-organ donors (MODs) within our network. The percentage of transplanted organs was compared between 1991-1992 (A) and 2006-2007 (B). In period A, 156 potential MODs were identified compared with 278 in period B. Fifteen potential donors (10%) in period A and 114 (41%) in period B were rejected because they were medically not suitable (40% vs 75%) or there was no family consent (60% vs 25%). Of the remaining effective MODs (141 in period A and 164 in period B), mean (standard deviation = SD) age was 34 (5) years vs 49 (17) years (P organs transplanted in periods A vs B was kidneys, 97% vs 79%; livers, 64% vs 85%; hearts, 60% vs 26%; lungs, 7% vs 35%; and pancreas, 6% vs 13% (P organs (17%), mainly because of medical contraindications. The MOD profile changed to older age, fewer traumatic brain deaths, and longer ventilation time. We transplanted more livers, lungs, and pancreases but fewer kidneys and hearts.

  10. Analysis of blood donor pre-donation deferral in Dubai: characteristics and reasons

    OpenAIRE

    Al Shaer, Laila; Sharma, Ranjita; AbdulRahman, Mahera

    2017-01-01

    Laila Al Shaer,1 Ranjita Sharma,2 Mahera AbdulRahman2 1College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE; 2Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, UAE Background: To ensure an adequate and safe blood supply, it is crucial to select suitable donors according to stringent eligibility criteria. Understanding the reasons for donor deferral can help in planning more efficient recruitment strategies and evaluating donor selection criteria. This study aims to def...

  11. An Expert-Based Assessment Model for Evaluating Habitat Suitability of Pond-Breeding Amphibians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shin-Ruoh Juang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Farm ponds are important habitats for amphibians, birds, and other wildlife. In Taiwan, artificial ponds were originally created on farmlands for irrigation purposes and the needs of the domestic water supply. Although pond creation is a typical farming practice, it also provides habitats for pond-breeding amphibians. Thus, it is essential to understand the current status of habitats and their vulnerability regarding urgent conservation needs for target species. Günther’s frog (Hylarana guentheri, a pond-breeding amphibian, has a high sensitivity towards surrounding environmental changes, and can be used as an indicator species to assess habitat suitability. The purpose of this study is to establish a systematic framework to assess the habitat suitability of pond-breeding amphibians by using Günther’s frog as a pilot-study species. First, we collected frog survey data from Chiayi, Taiwan, from winter 2013 to spring 2015, and investigated the present status of the environmental conditions around the ponds. Next, expert questionnaires and the fuzzy Delphi method were applied to establish the hierarchical evaluation criteria regarding the habitat suitability assessment. Four indicators: the aquatic environments of farm ponds; the terrestrial environments around ponds; landscape connectivity; and the conservation perceptions of the residents, were determined as first-layer factors in the assessment criteria, while ten other indicators were defined as second-layer factors. Based on the established assessment criteria, we performed in situ habitat suitability evaluations on 69 selected sites and surveyed the perceptions of the residents using questionnaires. Results revealed that 19% of locations were rich in frog species with a high habitat suitability. However, 67% of locations showed signs of habitat degradation, which may imply a higher need in practicing habitat improvement or restoration. The Kappa value was 0.6061, which indicated a high

  12. A perspective on the selection of unrelated donors and cord blood units for transplantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spellman, Stephen R.; Eapen, Mary; Logan, Brent R.; Mueller, Carlheinz; Rubinstein, Pablo; Setterholm, Michelle I.; Woolfrey, Ann E.; Confer, Dennis L.; Hurley, Carolyn K.

    2012-01-01

    Selection of a suitable graft for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves consideration of both donor and recipient characteristics. Of primary importance is sufficient donor-recipient HLA matching to ensure engraftment and acceptable rates of GVHD. In this Perspective, the National Marrow Donor Program and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research provide guidelines, based on large studies correlating graft characteristics with clinical transplantation outcomes, on appropriate typing strategies and matching criteria for unrelated adult donor and cord blood graft selection. PMID:22596257

  13. Suicidal hanging donors for lung transplantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ananiadou, Olga; Schmack, Bastian; Zych, Bartlomiej; Sabashnikov, Anton; Garcia-Saez, Diana; Mohite, Prashant; Weymann, Alexander; Mansur, Ashham; Zeriouh, Mohamed; Marczin, Nandor; De Robertis, Fabio; Simon, Andre Rüdiger; Popov, Aron-Frederik

    2018-01-01

    Abstract In the context of limited donor pool in cardiothoracic transplantation, utilization of organs from high risk donors, such as suicidal hanging donors, while ensuring safety, is under consideration. We sought to evaluate the outcomes of lung transplantations (LTx) that use organs from this group. Between January 2011 and December 2015, 265 LTx were performed at our center. Twenty-two recipients received lungs from donors after suicidal hanging (group 1). The remaining 243 transplantations were used as a control (group 2). Analysis of recipient and donor characteristics as well as outcomes was performed. No statistically significant difference was found in the donor characteristics between analyzed groups, except for higher incidence of cardiac arrest, younger age and smoking history of hanging donors (P donor cause of death is not associated with poor mid-term survival or chronic lung allograft dysfunction following transplantation. These results encourage assessment of lungs from hanging donors, and their consideration for transplantation. PMID:29620623

  14. Interviews of living kidney donors to assess donation-related concerns and information-gathering practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruck, Jessica M; Van Pilsum Rasmussen, Sarah E; Henderson, Macey L; Massie, Allan B; Segev, Dorry L

    2018-06-08

    Efforts are underway to improve living kidney donor (LKD) education, but current LKD concerns and information-gathering preferences have not been ascertained to inform evidence-based resource development. As a result, prior studies have found that donors desire information that is not included in current informed consent and/or educational materials. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 LKDs who donated at our center to assess (1) concerns about donation that they either had personally before or after donation or heard from family members or friends, (2) information that they had desired before donation, and (3) where they sought information about donation. We used thematic analysis of verbatim interview transcriptions to identify donation-related concerns. We compared the demographic characteristics of participants reporting specific concerns using Fisher's exact test. We identified 19 unique concerns that participants had or heard about living kidney donation. 20% of participants reported having had no pre-donation concerns; 38% reported no post-donation concerns. The most common concern pre-donation was future kidney failure (22%), post-donation was the recovery process (24%), and from family was endangering their family unit (16%). 44% of participants reported being less concerned than family. 26% of participants wished they had had additional information prior to donating, including practical advice for recovery (10%) and information about specific complications (14%). Caucasian participants were more likely to hear at least one concern from family (76% vs. 33%, p = 0.02). The most commonly consulted educational resources were health care providers (100%) and websites (79% of donors since 2000). 26% of participants had had contact with other donors; an additional 20% desired contact with other LKDs. Potential donors not only have personal donation-related concerns but frequently hear donation-related concerns from family members and friends

  15. Compliance with donor age recommendations in oocyte donor recruitment advertisements in the USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberta, Hillary B; Berry, Roberta M; Levine, Aaron D

    2013-04-01

    IVF using donated oocytes offers benefits to many infertile patients, yet the technique also raises a number of ethical concerns, including worries about potential physical and psychological risks to oocyte donors. In the USA, oversight of oocyte donation consists of a combination of federal and state regulations and self-regulatory guidelines promulgated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. This study assesses compliance with one of these self-regulatory guidelines - specifically, ASRM's preferred minimum age for donors of 21. To assess compliance, 539 oocyte donor recruitment advertisements from two recruitment channels (Craigslist and college newspapers) were collected and evaluated. Of these, 61% in the Craigslist dataset and 43% in the college newspaper dataset listed minimum ages between 18 and 20, which is inconsistent with ASRM's preferred minimum age recommendation of 21. Advertisements placed by oocyte donor recruitment agencies were more likely than advertisements placed by clinics to specify minimum ages between 18 and 20. These results indicate that ASRM should evaluate and consider revising its donor age guidelines. IVF using donated human eggs can help many patients who have difficulty having children. However, the technique also raises ethical concerns, including concerns about potential physical and psychological harms to egg donors. In the USA, oversight of egg donation relies on a combination of federal and state regulation and professional self-regulation. Governmental regulations address only limited aspects of egg donation, such as the potential spread of infectious diseases and the reporting of success rates, leaving voluntary guidelines developed by an association of medical professionals to address most issues, including ethical concerns raised by the practice. One of these voluntary guidelines recommends that egg donors should be at least 21 years of age. In this article, we analysed 539 egg donor recruitment advertisements

  16. The value of multi-slice spiral CT in the preoperative assessment of living renal donor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Qinghai; Yan Fuhua; Xu Pengju; Zhou Meiling; Zhu Tongyu; Xu Ming; Wang Guomin

    2008-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the value of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) in the preoperative evaluation of living renal donor as a all in one modality. Methods: Thirty-six potential living renal donors underwent the examination using a GE light VCT scanner. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The plain scan, early arterial phase, late arterial phase and excretory phase scans are performed in the former 25 donors (injection rate 5 rolls, total volume 100 mi, tube tension 120 kV). While in the later 11 donors (2 ml/s 40 ml +4 ml/s 60 ml), the scanning protocol included the plain scan ( 100 kV), vascular phase and excretory phase scans (100 kV). The excretory phase data were used in the reconstruction of CT urography in both groups. All images were reviewed by one radiologist and one urologist, and the findings of MSCT were compared with intraoperative findings for 33 donors, to investigate the utilities of MSCT in assessing renal vascularity, urinary tract and lesions of renal parenchyma. When discrepancies are found between the two reviewers, consensus was obtained via discussion. Au data was statiscally processed with SPSS for Windows. Results: MSCT angiography is in accordance with intraoperative findings in demonstrating the anatomy of renal arteries and renal vein trunk, accesary arteries, early branching of renal artery. The findings from CTA are highly in accordance with the intraoperative findings, which facilitate intraoperative ligation and reduce relevant complications. CTU demonstrates the anatomy of urinary, tract in good agreement with the intraoperative findings. The image quality of 3D vascularity and CTU between the two groups, scored 4.4 ± 1.2 vs 4.2 ± 1.3 and 4.6 ± 0.8 vs 4.4 ± 0.9 respectively, no statistical between-groups difference was found (Z=-0.89, -0.47, P>0.05). Conclusion: MSCT multiphase scanning combined with CTA and CTU play a important role in the evaluation of living renal donor, which

  17. Assessment of Suitability of Wood Fibres of Four Nigerian Fruit ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Wood fibres of four fruit trees of Nigeria commonly found in Nsukka metropolis were studied and assessed for their suitability for paper-making. These trees include Mangifera indica, Anacardium occidentale, Persea americana and Dacryodes edulis. The parameters used in the study were the fibre dimensions and derived ...

  18. Factors influencing the virological testing of cornea donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röck, Tobias; Beck, Robert; Jürgens, Stefan; Bartz-Schmidt, Karl Ulrich; Bramkamp, Matthias; Thaler, Sebastian; Röck, Daniel

    2017-11-01

    To assess the influence of donor, environment, and logistical factors on the results of virological testing of blood samples from cornea donors.Data from 670 consecutive cornea donors were analyzed retrospectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the influence of different factors on the results of virological testing of blood samples from cornea donors.The mean annual rate of donors with serology-reactive or not evaluable result was 14.8% (99 of 670) (range 11.9%-16.9%). The cause of donor death by cancer increased the risk of serology-reactive or not evaluable result (P = .0300). Prolonged time between death and post mortem blood removal was associated with a higher rate of serology-reactive or not evaluable result (P donors, sex, and donor age had no significant impact on the results of virological testing of blood samples from cornea donors.The cause of donor death by cancer and a prolonged time between death and post mortem blood removal seem to be mainly responsible for serology-reactive or not evaluable result of blood samples from cornea donors. The percentage of discarded corneas caused by serology-reactive or not evaluable result may be reduced by shortening the period of time between death and post mortem blood removal. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Readability and suitability assessment of patient education materials in rheumatic diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhee, Rennie L; Von Feldt, Joan M; Schumacher, H Ralph; Merkel, Peter A

    2013-10-01

    Web-based patient education materials and printed pamphlets are frequently used by providers to inform patients about their rheumatic disease. Little attention has been given to the readability and appropriateness of patient materials. The objective of this study was to examine the readability and suitability of commonly used patient education materials for osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and vasculitis. Five or 6 popular patient resources for each disease were chosen for evaluation. Readability was measured using the Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level and suitability was determined by the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), a score that considers characteristics such as content, graphics, layout/topography, and cultural appropriateness. Three different reviewers rated the SAM score and means were used in the analysis. Twenty-three resources written on the 4 diseases were evaluated. The education material for all 4 diseases studied had readability above the eighth-grade level and readability did not differ among the diseases. Only 5 of the 23 resources received superior suitability scores, and 3 of these 5 resources were written for OA. All 4 diseases received adequate suitability scores, with OA having the highest mean suitability score. Most patient education materials for rheumatic diseases are written at readability levels above the recommended sixth-grade reading level and have only adequate suitability. Developing more appropriate educational resources for patients with rheumatic diseases may improve patient comprehension. Copyright © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology.

  20. Pre-donation cognitions of potential living organ donors: the development of the Donation Cognition Instrument in potential kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirken, Lieke; van Middendorp, Henriët; Hooghof, Christina W; Sanders, Jan-Stephan F; Dam, Ruth E; van der Pant, Karlijn A M I; Berendsen, Elsbeth C M; Wellink, Hiske; Dackus, Henricus J A; Hoitsma, Andries J; Hilbrands, Luuk B; Evers, Andrea W M

    2017-03-01

    Cognitions surrounding living organ donation, including the motivation to donate, expectations of donation and worries about donation, are relevant themes during living donor evaluation. However, there is no reliable psychometric instrument assessing all these different cognitions. This study developed and validated a questionnaire to assess pre-donation motivations, expectations and worries regarding donation, entitled the Donation Cognition Instrument (DCI). Psychometric properties of the DCI were examined using exploratory factor analysis for scale structure and associations with validated questionnaires for construct validity assessment. From seven Dutch transplantation centres, 719 potential living kidney donors were included. The DCI distinguishes cognitions about donor benefits, recipient benefits, idealistic incentives, gratitude and worries about donation (Cronbach's alpha 0.76-0.81). Scores on pre-donation cognitions differed with regard to gender, age, marital status, religion and donation type. With regard to construct validity, the DCI was moderately correlated with expectations regarding donor's personal well-being and slightly to moderately to health-related quality of life. The DCI is found to be a reliable instrument assessing cognitions surrounding living organ donation, which might add to pre-donation quality of life measures in facilitating psychosocial donor evaluation by healthcare professionals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

  1. SYSTEMIC COMPLICATIONS AND THEIR RISK FACTORS AMONG TEHRANIAN BLOOD DONOR, 2005

    OpenAIRE

    F. Majlessi; S. Ghafari; A. Rahimi-Foroushani M. Maghsoodlou

    2008-01-01

    The systemic complications of blood donation are the first reasons why patients fail to return for further blood donation. This study was designed to determine the frequency of these complications and their associated risk factors among blood donors in Tehran. Also, we aimed to provide suitable methods to decrease the frequency of these adverse events, thereby eliminating the most important causes of withdrawal, while maintaining the health of the donors. This analytical descriptive cross-sec...

  2. Frequency and risk factors for donor reactions in an anonymous blood donor survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Mindy; Osmond, Lori; Yi, Qi-Long; Cameron-Choi, Keltie; O'Brien, Sheila F

    2013-09-01

    Adverse donor reactions can result in injury and decrease the likelihood of donor return. Reaction reports captured in the blood center's database provide an incomplete picture of reaction rates and risk factors. We performed an anonymous survey, mailed to 40,000 donors in 2008, including questions about symptoms, height, weight, sex, and donation status. Reaction rates were compared to those recorded in our database. Possible risk factors were assessed for various reactions. The response rate was 45.5%. A total of 32% of first-time and 14% of repeat donors reported having any adverse symptom, most frequently bruising (84.9 per 1000 donors) or feeling faint or weak (66.2 per 1000). Faint reactions were two to eight times higher than reported in our database, although direct comparison was difficult. Younger age, female sex, and first-time donation status were risk factors for systemic and arm symptoms. In females, low estimated blood volume (EBV) was a risk factor for systemic symptoms. Only 51% of donors who consulted an outside physician also called Canadian Blood Services. A total of 10% of first-time donors with reactions found adverse effects information inadequate. This study allowed us to collect more information about adverse reactions, including minor symptoms and delayed reactions. Based on our findings of the risk factors and frequency of adverse reactions, we are implementing more stringent EBV criteria for younger donors and providing more detailed information to donors about possible adverse effects and their management. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

  3. Liver transplantation utilizing old donor organs: a German single-center experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauchfuss, F; Voigt, R; Dittmar, Y; Heise, M; Settmacher, U

    2010-01-01

    Due to the current profound lack of suitable donor organs, transplant centers are increasingly forced to accept so-called marginal organs. One criterion for marginal donors is the donor age >65 years. We have presented herein the impact of higher donor age on graft and patient survival. Since 2004, 230 liver transplantations have been performed at our center, including 54 donor organs (23.5%) from individuals >65 years of age. We performed a retrospective analysis of recipient and graft survivals. The overall 1-year mortality was 22.2% (12/54) among recipients of organs from older donors versus 19.5% among recipients whose donors were donor organs were grouped according to age, the 1-year mortality in patients receiving organs from donors aged 65-69 years was 30% (6/20); 70-74 years, 29.4% (5/17); and donors >75 years, 5.9% (1/17). There was no significant correlation between mortality rate and the number of additional criteria of a marginal donor organ. The current lack of donor organs forces transplant centers to accept organs from older individuals; increasingly older patients are being recruited for the donor pool. Our results showed that older organs may be transplanted with acceptable outcomes. This observation was consistent with data from the current literature. It should be emphasized, however, that caution is advised when considering the acceptance of older organs for patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.

  4. Development of Organ-Specific Donor Risk Indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akkina, Sanjeev K.; Asrani, Sumeet K.; Peng, Yi; Stock, Peter; Kim, Ray; Israni, Ajay K.

    2012-01-01

    Due to the shortage of deceased donor organs, transplant centers accept organs from marginal deceased donors, including older donors. Organ-specific donor risk indices have been developed to predict graft survival using various combinations of donor and recipient characteristics. We will review the kidney donor risk index (KDRI) and liver donor risk index (LDRI) and compare and contrast their strengths, limitations, and potential uses. The Kidney Donor Risk Index has a potential role in developing new kidney allocation algorithms. The Liver Donor Risk Index allows for greater appreciation of the importance of donor factors, particularly for hepatitis C-positive recipients; as the donor risk index increases, rates of allograft and patient survival among these recipients decrease disproportionately. Use of livers with high donor risk index is associated with increased hospital costs independent of recipient risk factors, and transplanting livers with high donor risk index into patients with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores Donor Risk Index has limited this practice. Significant regional variation in donor quality, as measured by the Liver Donor Risk Index, remains in the United States. We also review other potential indices for liver transplant, including donor-recipient matching and the retransplant donor risk index. While substantial progress has been made in developing donor risk indices to objectively assess donor variables that affect transplant outcomes, continued efforts are warranted to improve these indices to enhance organ allocation policies and optimize allograft survival. PMID:22287036

  5. Assessing the Amazon Cloud Suitability for CLARREO's Computational Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldin, Daniel; Vakhnin, Andrei A.; Currey, Jon C.

    2015-01-01

    In this document we compare the performance of the Amazon Web Services (AWS), also known as Amazon Cloud, with the CLARREO (Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory) cluster and assess its suitability for computational needs of the CLARREO mission. A benchmark executable to process one month and one year of PARASOL (Polarization and Anistropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) data was used. With the optimal AWS configuration, adequate data-processing times, comparable to the CLARREO cluster, were found. The assessment of alternatives to the CLARREO cluster continues and several options, such as a NASA-based cluster, are being considered.

  6. Living donor transplantation--the real gift of life. Procurement and the ethical assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banasik, Mirosław

    2006-01-01

    It has been observed during the past 10-15 years a greater disparity between the supply of kidneys for transplantation and the demand of patients on waiting lists. The number of cadaveric kidneys available for transplantation have not increased in many countries. Countries and their societies are faced with a choice, let patients with the end- stage renal disease stay on, dialysis giving a faster death and a lower quality of life, or decide to introduce the more active living donation program. There are countries, historically Scandinavian countries, the U.S.A. and U.K., which decided to change medical, social and ethical attitudes to help their citizens and patients on dialysis. For many other countries approval of the new approach of their donation seems to cause difficulties. The main problem for medical staff is the principle Primum non nocere (First do no harm), removal of a living kidney conflicts with this principle. From the other point of view is the human right of an individual to autonomy for donation of a kidney. The donor is completely informed for the risks involved in donation of a kidney to an awaiting recipient. The donors reasons for donation of the kidney must be understood and family pressure excluded. Where is the borderline between the paternalistic approach of the medical personnel preventing the altruistic attitude of the donor? How far is the role of the medical staff to extend in the assessment of the altruistic nature and goodwill of the donors?

  7. Methanol as electron donor for thermophilic biological sulfate and sulfite reduction

    OpenAIRE

    Weijma, J.

    2000-01-01

    Sulfur oxyanions (e.g. sulfate, sulfite) can be removed from aqueous waste- and process streams by biological reduction with a suitable electron donor to sulfide, followed by partial chemical or biological oxidation of sulfide to elemental sulfur. The aim of the research described in this thesis was to make this biological process more broadly applicable for desulfurization of flue-gases and ground- and wastewaters by using the cheap chemical methanol as electron donor for the reduct...

  8. Renal Transplantation from Elderly Living Donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob A. Akoh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Acceptance of elderly living kidney donors remains controversial due to the higher incidence of comorbidity and greater risk of postoperative complications. This is a review of publications in the English language between 2000 and 2013 about renal transplantation from elderly living donors to determine trends and effects of donation, and the outcomes of such transplantation. The last decade witnessed a 50% increase in living kidney donor transplants, with a disproportionate increase in donors >60 years. There is no accelerated loss of kidney function following donation, and the incidence of established renal failure (ERF and hypertension among donors is similar to that of the general population. The overall incidence of ERF in living donors is about 0.134 per 1000 years. Elderly donors require rigorous assessment and should have a predicted glomerular filtration rate of at least 37.5 mL/min/1.73 m2 at the age of 80. Though elderly donors had lower glomerular filtration rate before donation, proportionate decline after donation was similar in both young and elderly groups. The risks of delayed graft function, acute rejection, and graft failure in transplants from living donors >65 years are significantly higher than transplants from younger donors. A multicentred, long-term, and prospective database addressing the outcomes of kidneys from elderly living donors is recommended.

  9. Analysis of blood donor pre-donation deferral in Dubai: characteristics and reasons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Shaer, Laila; Sharma, Ranjita; AbdulRahman, Mahera

    2017-01-01

    To ensure an adequate and safe blood supply, it is crucial to select suitable donors according to stringent eligibility criteria. Understanding the reasons for donor deferral can help in planning more efficient recruitment strategies and evaluating donor selection criteria. This study aims to define donor pre-donation deferral rates, causes of deferral, and characteristics of deferred donors in Dubai. This retrospective study was conducted on all donors who presented for allogeneic blood donation between January 1, 2010, until June 30, 2013, in Dubai Blood Donation Centre, accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks. The donation and deferral data were analyzed to determine the demographic characteristics of accepted and deferred donors, and frequency analyses were also conducted. Among 142,431 individuals presenting during the study period, 114,827 (80.6%) were accepted for donation, and 27,604 (19.4%) were deferred. The overall proportion of deferrals was higher among individuals less than 21 years old (35%, P Dubai is relatively high compared to the internationally reported rates. This rate was higher among first-time donors and females, with low hemoglobin as the major factor leading to a temporary deferral of donors. Strategies to mitigate deferral and improve blood donor retention are urged in Dubai to avoid additional stress on the blood supply.

  10. Development of organ-specific donor risk indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akkina, Sanjeev K; Asrani, Sumeet K; Peng, Yi; Stock, Peter; Kim, W Ray; Israni, Ajay K

    2012-04-01

    Because of the shortage of deceased donor organs, transplant centers accept organs from marginal deceased donors, including older donors. Organ-specific donor risk indices have been developed to predict graft survival with various combinations of donor and recipient characteristics. Here we review the kidney donor risk index (KDRI) and the liver donor risk index (LDRI) and compare and contrast their strengths, limitations, and potential uses. The KDRI has a potential role in developing new kidney allocation algorithms. The LDRI allows a greater appreciation of the importance of donor factors, particularly for hepatitis C virus-positive recipients; as the donor risk index increases, the rates of allograft and patient survival among these recipients decrease disproportionately. The use of livers with high donor risk indices is associated with increased hospital costs that are independent of recipient risk factors, and the transplantation of livers with high donor risk indices into patients with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores indices for liver transplantation, including donor-recipient matching and the retransplant donor risk index. Although substantial progress has been made in developing donor risk indices to objectively assess donor variables that affect transplant outcomes, continued efforts are warranted to improve these indices to enhance organ allocation policies and optimize allograft survival. Copyright © 2012 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

  11. Land Suitability Assessment And Precision Farming Prospects For ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The soils on the farm were sampled and profiles classified using South African Binomial system of soil classification. The farm was divided into suitability classes of highly suitable (S1), suitable (S2), and unsuitable (N1), and permanently unsuitable (N2) classes. Maize-soybean suitability maps were produced based on soil ...

  12. Multidetector row computed tomography evaluation of the micropig kidney as a potential renal donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Woong; Lee, Min Young; Ryu, Jung Min; Moon, Yong Ju; Lee, Sang Hun; Park, Jae Hong; Yun, Seung Pil; Jang, Min Woo; Park, Sung Su; Han, Ho Jae

    2010-03-01

    Multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) provides anatomical information about the kidney and other internal organs. Presently, the suitability of 64-channel MDCT to assess the kidney of healthy micropigs was evaluated. Morphological evaluations of the kidney and the major renal vessels of six healthy micropigs were carried out using MDCT, recording kidney volume and the diameter and length of renal arteries and veins. The mean diameters and lengths of the renal artery were 0.44 +/- 0.05 and 4.51 +/- 0.55 cm on the right side and 0.46 +/- 0.06 and 3.36 +/- 0.27 cm on the left side, respectively. The mean diameters and lengths of the renal vein were 1.44 +/- 0.52 and 4.22 +/- 1.29 cm on the right side and 1.38 +/- 0.17 and 5.15 +/- 0.87 cm on the left side, respectively. The mean volume of the right kidney was 79.3 +/- 14.5 mL and of the left kidney was 78.0 +/- 13.9 mL. The data presented in this study suggest that the MDCT offers a noninvasive, rapid, and accurate method for the evaluation of the renal anatomy in living kidney donors. It also provides sufficient information about extra-renal anatomy important for donor surgery and determination of organ suitability.

  13. Viral transfusion transmissible infections amongst blood donors in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1 These safety procedures refer to the small preliminary donation made on site. This is firstly cross-matched for compatibility with the intended recipient, if the donor is suitable the blood sample is then screened for the listed infectious agents. It is only those individuals who are clear of infection and compatible with the.

  14. Hand-made cloned goat (Capra hircus) embryos—a comparison of different donor cells and culture systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akshey, Yogesh S; Malakar, Dhruba; De, Arun K; Jena, Manoj K; Garg, Shweta; Dutta, Rahul; Pawar, Sachin Kumar; Mukesh, Manisha

    2010-10-01

    Nuclear transfer is a very effective method for propagation of valuable, extinct, and endangered animals. Hand-made cloning (HMC) is an efficient alternative to the conventional micromanipulator-based technique in some domestic species. The present study was carried out for the selection of suitable somatic cells as a nuclear donor and development of an optimum culture system for in vitro culture of zona-free goat cloned embryos. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were observed 72.06 ± 2.94% and 0% for fresh cumulus cells, 81.95 ± 3.40% and 12.74 ± 2.12% for cultured cumulus cells, and 92.94 ± 0.91% and 23.78 ± 3.33% for fetal fibroblast cells, respectively. There was a significant (p cloned embryos and donor cells. In conclusion, the present study describes that the fetal fibroblast cell is a suitable candidate as nuclear donor, and the flat surface culture system is suitable for zona-free blastocyst development by the hand-made cloning technique in the goat.

  15. Evaluation of diphtheria convalescent patients to serve as donors for the production of anti-diphtheria immunoglobulin preparations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bissumbhar, B.; Rakhmanova, A.G.; Berbers, G.; Iakolev, A.; Nosikova, E.; Melnick, O.; Ovtcharenko, E.; Rümke, H. C.; Ruitenberg, E.J.

    2004-01-01

    Aims: The study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of selecting convalescent diphtheria patients to serve in emergency situations as donors for the production of anti-diphtheria immunoglobulin. To select suitable donors, the criterion of an antitoxin titer ≥3.0 IU/ml was used. In addition,

  16. Using Risk Assessment and Habitat Suitability Models to Prioritise Invasive Species for Management in a Changing Climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chai, Shauna-Lee; Zhang, Jian; Nixon, Amy; Nielsen, Scott

    2016-01-01

    Accounting for climate change in invasive species risk assessments improves our understanding of potential future impacts and enhances our preparedness for the arrival of new non-native species. We combined traditional risk assessment for invasive species with habitat suitability modeling to assess risk to biodiversity based on climate change. We demonstrate our method by assessing the risk for 15 potentially new invasive plant species to Alberta, Canada, an area where climate change is expected to facilitate the poleward expansion of invasive species ranges. Of the 15 species assessed, the three terrestrial invasive plant species that could pose the greatest threat to Alberta's biodiversity are giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis), and alkali swainsonpea (Sphaerophysa salsula). We characterise giant knotweed as 'extremely invasive', with 21 times the suitable habitat between baseline and future projected climate. Tamarisk is 'extremely invasive' with a 64% increase in suitable habitat, and alkali swainsonpea is 'highly invasive' with a 21% increase in suitable habitat. Our methodology can be used to predict and prioritise potentially new invasive species for their impact on biodiversity in the context of climate change.

  17. [Robotic assisted laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy: preoperative assessment and results of 100 cases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laplace, B; Ladrière, M; Claudon, M; Eschwege, P; Kessler, M; Hubert, J

    2014-04-01

    To assess short term morbidity and renal function after robotic laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy. We performed a retrospective analysis of 100 consecutives patients undergoing a robotic laparoscopic living donors nephrectomy. We analyzed isotopic measure of the renal function before and 4 months after surgery, the side, the number of arteries, the blood loss, the operative time and warm ischemia time. In the outcomes, we collected the complications, the length of stay, and for the receiver, the renal function recovery time, dialysis, survival and renal function at one year. Left kidney nephrectomy was performed in 85 patients and we observed 25 multiples renal arteries. Mean estimated blood loss was 0,8 g/dL. Mean operative time and warm ischemia time were respectively 174 ± 30 and 4.8 ± 1.7 minutes. Seven complications occured, with 2 major (Clavien-Dindo System). Mean length of stay was 5.1 ± 1.9 days. Mean glomerular filtration decrease was 26% and remains stable at one year after surgery. Grafts had an immediate renal function recovery for 99%, and were all functional after one year, with mean MDRD clearance of 57 ± 14mL/min. Robotic procedure in laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy seems to guarantee low morbidity and the stability of the renal function decrease of 26%. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  18. Assessing range-wide habitat suitability for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Holcombe, Tracy R.; Grisham, Blake A.; Timmer, Jennifer M.; Boal, Clint W.; Butler, Matthew; Pitman, James C.; Kyle, Sean; Klute, David; Beauprez, Grant M.; Janus, Allan; Van Pelt, William E.

    2016-01-01

    Population declines of many wildlife species have been linked to habitat loss incurred through land-use change. Incorporation of conservation planning into development planning may mitigate these impacts. The threatened Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is experiencing loss of native habitat and high levels of energy development across its multijurisdictional range. Our goal was to explore relationships of the species occurrence with landscape characteristics and anthropogenic effects influencing its distribution through evaluation of habitat suitability associated with one particular habitat usage, lekking. Lekking has been relatively well-surveyed, though not consistently, in all jurisdictions. All five states in which Lesser Prairie-Chickens occur cooperated in development of a Maxent habitat suitability model. We created two models, one with state as a factor and one without state. When state was included it was the most important predictor, followed by percent of land cover consisting of known or suspected used vegetation classes within a 5000 m area around a lek. Without state, land cover was the most important predictor of relative habitat suitability for leks. Among the anthropogenic predictors, landscape condition, a measure of human impact integrated across several factors, was most important, ranking third in importance without state. These results quantify the relative suitability of the landscape within the current occupied range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens. These models, combined with other landscape information, form the basis of a habitat assessment tool that can be used to guide siting of development projects and targeting of areas for conservation.

  19. Iliac Crest Donor Site for Children With Cleft Lip and Palate Undergoing Alveolar Bone Grafting: A Long-term Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Jonathan; Sanders, Megan; Loo, Stanley; Moaveni, Zac; Bartlett, Glenn; Keall, Heather; Pinkerton, Mark

    2016-05-01

    The authors aimed to accurately assess the donor site morbidity from iliac crest bone grafts for secondary bone grafting in patients with cleft lip and palate alveolar defects. Fifty patients between 3 months and 10 years following alveolar bone grafting for cleft lip and palate were entered into the study. Two-thirds of patients had no significant concerns about the donor site. The remaining third had some concerns about the appearance of their hips and less than 10% of patients expressing strong agreement with statements about concerns with shape, appearance, and self-consciousness about the iliac crest donor site. Examination findings showed the average length of scar being 5.4 cm and a third of patients having some minor palpable boney irregularities of the iliac crest. The authors found that the alveolar crest donor site is well tolerated by patients long term but has a measurable morbidity long term.

  20. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) in development cooperation. A presentation of development challenges and research issues in developing countries and donor agencies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kristoffersen, Harald

    1997-12-31

    This document discusses some development challenges and research needs related to environmental impact assessment (EIA) in development cooperation. After a general introduction to basic principles of EIA, the document deals with some general conditions for EIA in developing countries and in donor agencies. Through a presentation of experiences with EIA from selected donor agencies (with emphasis on NORAD) the report ends up with focusing on some research issues that may come up with recommendations for improving EIA practices in developing countries and donor agencies. 37 refs., 6 figs., 3 refs.

  1. Zero risk tolerance costs lives: loss of transplantable organs due to human immunodeficiency virus nucleic acid testing of potential donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafer, Teresa J; Schkade, David; Schkade, Lawrence; Geier, Steven S; Orlowski, Jeffrey P; Klintmalm, Goran

    2011-09-01

    Patients' deaths due to the organ donor shortage make it imperative that every suitable organ be transplanted. False-positive results of tests for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) result in lost organs. A survey of US organ procurement organizations collected the numbers of donors and ruled-out potential donors who had a positive result on an HIV test from January 1,2006, to October 31, 2008. Sixty-two percent of US organ procurement organizations participated. Of the 12397 donor/nondonor cases, 56 (0.45%) had an initial positive result on an HIV antibody or HIV nucleic acid test, and only 8 (14.3%) of those were confirmed positive. Of the false-positive results, 50% were from HIV antibody tests and 50% were from HIV nucleic acid tests. Organs are a scarce, finite, and perishable resource. Use of HIV antibody testing has produced a remarkably safe track record of avoiding HIV transmission, with 22 years of nonoccurrence between transmissions. Because false positives occur with any test, including the HIV Ab test, adding nucleic acid testing to the standard donor testing panel doubles the number of false-positive HIV test results and thus the number of medically suitable donors lost. The required HIV antibody test is 99.99% effective in preventing transmission of the HIV virus. Adding the HIV nucleic acid test to routine organ donor screening could result in as many as 761 to 1551 unnecessary deaths of patients between HIV transmission events because medically suitable organs are wasted.

  2. Comparison of matched sibling donors versus unrelated donors in allogeneic stem cell transplantation for primary refractory acute myeloid leukemia: a study on behalf of the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the EBMT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eolia Brissot

    2017-06-01

    unrelated donor is a suitable option, and therefore, initiation of an early search for allocating a suitable donor is indicated.

  3. Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piersma, Tjeerd W.; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F.; de Kort, Wim L.A.M.; Merz, Eva-Maria

    2017-01-01

    Background The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. Methods The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Results Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Discussion Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood

  4. Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piersma, Tjeerd W; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F; De Kort, Wim L A M; Merz, Eva-Maria

    2017-09-01

    The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood supply.

  5. The use of computer simulation to assess the suitability of RWH ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... which was designed to assess the suitability of RWH technology interventions for any new site. The simulation model is briefly described and typical examples of its use as a tool for agro-technology transfer are presented. The interface is user-friendly and the model itself is designed to work with readily available site data.

  6. Donor Outcomes in Living Donor Liver Transplantation-Analysis of 275 Donors From a Single Centre in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narasimhan, Gomathy; Safwan, Mohamed; Kota, Venugopal; Reddy, Mettu S; Bharathan, Anand; Dabora, Abderrhaim; Kaliamoorthy, Ilankumaran; Kanagavelu, Rathnavel G; Srinivasan, Vijaya; Rela, Mohamed

    2016-06-01

    Live donor liver transplantation is the predominant form of liver transplantation in India and in most Asian countries. Donor outcome reports are an important source of information to be shared with prospective donors at the time of informed consent. This is the first donor outcome series from India. Analysis of donor characteristics and morbidity of 275 live donors from a single large volume center is documented. Two hundred seventy-five patients donated from November 2009 to October 2014, 144 were women and 131 were men, 180 donated to adults and 95 donated to children. Right lobe donors were majority at 62.2% followed by left lateral segment 28%. Two thirds of the live donors did not have any morbidity; 114 complications were encountered in 85 patients. The complications were graded as per Clavien 5 tier grading and major morbidity (grade III b, grade IV grade V) was 4.36%. Postoperative biliary complication was seen in 3 donors. This large single-center study is the first donor outcome report from India, and the results are comparable to other published donor series. Documentation and regular audit of donor outcomes is important to help improve the safety of donor hepatectomy and to provide a database for informed consent of prospective donors.

  7. Using Risk Assessment and Habitat Suitability Models to Prioritise Invasive Species for Management in a Changing Climate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shauna-Lee Chai

    Full Text Available Accounting for climate change in invasive species risk assessments improves our understanding of potential future impacts and enhances our preparedness for the arrival of new non-native species. We combined traditional risk assessment for invasive species with habitat suitability modeling to assess risk to biodiversity based on climate change. We demonstrate our method by assessing the risk for 15 potentially new invasive plant species to Alberta, Canada, an area where climate change is expected to facilitate the poleward expansion of invasive species ranges. Of the 15 species assessed, the three terrestrial invasive plant species that could pose the greatest threat to Alberta's biodiversity are giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis, tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis, and alkali swainsonpea (Sphaerophysa salsula. We characterise giant knotweed as 'extremely invasive', with 21 times the suitable habitat between baseline and future projected climate. Tamarisk is 'extremely invasive' with a 64% increase in suitable habitat, and alkali swainsonpea is 'highly invasive' with a 21% increase in suitable habitat. Our methodology can be used to predict and prioritise potentially new invasive species for their impact on biodiversity in the context of climate change.

  8. Land Use Suitability Assessment in Low-Slope Hilly Regions under the Impact of Urbanization in Yunnan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gui Jin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, the conflict between land development and land conservation has become increasingly serious in China. The plan called “town of mountain” is carried out in many nonplain areas to alleviate the conflict. To avoid geological disasters and ecological risks in those areas, land use suitability assessment is of great importance. In this paper, the fuzzy weight of evidence model is applied into land use suitability assessment in low-slope hilly regions in Yunnan, China. Fuzzy weight of evidences is calculated to determine 9 map layers. Finally, posterior probabilities are modified after synthesizing each map layer, which are used to generate a land use suitability map. The results show that 9.33%, 26.18%, 45.98%, and 18.51% of low-slope hilly regions are separately highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable, and unsuitable for development. Besides, highly and moderately suitable areas are mainly located in towns with excellent natural and socioeconomic conditions. The largest areas which are marginally suitable for development are most widely distributed. Unsuitable areas are mainly distributed far away from towns and water sources. The findings of the research will promote the rational use and scientific management of the land.

  9. Guidance for Large-scale Implementation of Alternate Wetting and Drying: A Biophysical Suitability Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, B. O.; Wassmann, R.; Nelson, A.; Palao, L.; Wollenberg, E.; Ishitani, M.

    2014-12-01

    The alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology for rice production does not only save 15-30% of irrigation water, it also reduces methane emissions by up to 70%. AWD is defined by periodic drying and re-flooding of a rice field. Due to its high mitigation potential and its simplicity to execute this practice AWD has gained a lot of attention in recent years. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) has put AWD high on its agenda and funds a project to guide implementation of this technology in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Colombia. One crucial activity is a biophysical suitability assessment for AWD in the three countries. For this, we analyzed rainfall and soil data as well as potential evapotranspiration to assess if the water balance allows practicing AWD or if precipitation is too high for rice fields to fall dry. In my talk I will outline key factors for a successful large-scale implementation of AWD with a focus on the biophysical suitability assessment. The seasonal suitability maps that we generated highlight priority areas for AWD implementation and guide policy makers to informed decisions about meaningful investments in infrastructure and extension work.

  10. The effect of World Blood Donor Day on digital information seeking and donor recruitment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kranenburg, Floris J; Kreuger, Aukje L; Arbous, M Sesmu; Laeijendecker, Daphne; van Kraaij, Marian G J

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is to raise awareness for the importance of blood donation. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of WBDD on digital information seeking and donor recruitment. Google Trends data were used to quantify seeking behavior on "blood donation" and "blood donor." Differences in relative search volume (RSV) between the 3 weeks surrounding WBDD and the rest of the year were calculated. Second, mean differences in RSV were compared to assess the additional effect of hosting using translated search terms. Third, we compared the period around WBDD with the control period regarding page views of the Sanquin website and Facebook likes and number of newly registered donors in 2016. The mean RSV for "blood donation" in the period of interest was 78.6, compared to 72.1 in the control period (difference, 6.5; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.2-11.8). For "blood donor" this was 78.9 compared to 65.9 (difference, 12.9; 95% CI, 8.1-17.8). We found no additional effect of hosting. In the period of interest, the website of Sanquin was visited 6862 times a day and 4293 times in the control period (difference, 2569; 95% CI, 1687-3451). In June 2016, 54.6% (95% CI, 53.0-56.2) more new donors were registered compared to the control period. An international campaign like WBDD raises the awareness of blood donation and is effective in convincing people to register as blood donors. © 2017 AABB.

  11. MDCT evaluation of potential living renal donor, prior to laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: What the transplant surgeon wants to know?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghonge, Nitin P; Gadanayak, Satyabrat; Rajakumari, Vijaya

    2014-01-01

    As Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy (LDN) offers several advantages for the donor such as lesser post-operative pain, fewer cosmetic concerns and faster recovery time, there is growing global trend towards LDN as compared to open nephrectomy. Comprehensive pre-LDN donor evaluation includes assessment of renal morphology including pelvi-calyceal and vascular system. Apart from donor selection, evaluation of the regional anatomy allows precise surgical planning. Due to limited visualization during laparoscopic renal harvesting, detailed pre-transplant evaluation of regional anatomy, including the renal venous anatomy is of utmost importance. MDCT is the modality of choice for pre-LDN evaluation of potential renal donors. Apart from appropriate scan protocol and post-processing methods, detailed understanding of surgical techniques is essential for the Radiologist for accurate image interpretation during pre-LDN MDCT evaluation of potential renal donors. This review article describes MDCT evaluation of potential living renal donor, prior to LDN with emphasis on scan protocol, post-processing methods and image interpretation. The article laid special emphasis on surgical perspectives of pre-LDN MDCT evaluation and addresses important points which transplant surgeons want to know

  12. Effect of mating between the donor cow and bull (Holstein versus Gyr on the in vitro production of bovine embryos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Toledo Barbosa da Silva

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the breed of the oocyte donor cow and bull (Holstein versus Gyr on in vitro production (IVP parameters of bovine embryos comparing the mean number of recovered oocytes and oocytes suitable for culture, the rate of suitable oocytes, and cleavage and blastocyst rates. Data from 1,000 follicular aspiration sessions (OPU, including 500 in donor cows of the Holstein breed and 500 of the Gyr breed, were collected. The results were analyzed by the unpaired Student t-test and chi-square test, adopting a level of significance of 5%. The mean number and standard deviation of recovered oocytes and oocytes suitable for culture were 15.1±13.0 and 8.7±7.6 for the Holstein breed and 15.5±11.9 and 9.1±7.9 for the Gyr breed. The rates of suitable oocytes were 57.7% and 58.5% for Holstein and Gyr breeds, respectively. A significant difference between breeds was observed for the number of oocytes suitable for culture (P<0.05, but not for the number of recovered oocytes or rates of suitable oocytes (P>0.05. Similarly, the breed of the oocyte donor cow and bull influenced cleavage and blastocyst rates (P<0.05. The cleavage rates were 65.7, 60.3, 59.6 and 56.5% for the combinations (donor breed x bull breed Holstein x Holstein (G1, Holstein x Gyr (G2, Gyr x Holstein (G3 and Gyr x Gyr (G4, respectively, with G1>G2, G1>G3, G1>G4, G2=G3, G2>G4, and G3>G4. The blastocyst rates were 28.1, 33.3, 26.8 and 31.0%, respectively, with G1>G2, G1=G3, G1donor cow and bull influenced IVP parameters, with a larger number of oocytes suitable for culture in the Gyr breed.

  13. Assessment of Managed Aquifer Recharge Site Suitability Using a GIS and Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Tess A; Fisher, Andrew T; Lockwood, Brian S

    2015-01-01

    We completed a two-step regional analysis of a coastal groundwater basin to (1) assess regional suitability for managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and (2) quantify the relative impact of MAR activities on groundwater levels and sea water intrusion. The first step comprised an analysis of surface and subsurface hydrologic properties and conditions, using a geographic information system (GIS). Surface and subsurface data coverages were compiled, georeferenced, reclassified, and integrated (including novel approaches for combining related datasets) to derive a spatial distribution of MAR suitability values. In the second step, results from the GIS analysis were used with a regional groundwater model to assess the hydrologic impact of potential MAR placement and operating scenarios. For the region evaluated in this study, the Pajaro Valley Groundwater Basin, California, GIS results suggest that about 7% (15 km2) of the basin may be highly suitable for MAR. Modeling suggests that simulated MAR projects placed near the coast help to reduce sea water intrusion more rapidly, but these projects also result in increased groundwater flows to the ocean. In contrast, projects placed farther inland result in more long-term reduction in sea water intrusion and less groundwater flowing to the ocean. This work shows how combined GIS analysis and modeling can assist with regional water supply planning, including evaluation of options for enhancing groundwater resources. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

  14. Methanol as electron donor for thermophilic biological sulfate and sulfite reduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weijma, J.

    2000-01-01

    Sulfur oxyanions (e.g. sulfate, sulfite) can be removed from aqueous waste- and process streams by biological reduction with a suitable electron donor to sulfide, followed by partial chemical or biological oxidation of sulfide to elemental sulfur. The aim of the research described in this

  15. Assessing Pearl Quality Using Reflectance UV-Vis Spectroscopy: Does the Same Donor Produce Consistent Pearl Quality?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul C. Southgate

    2010-09-01

    with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Nevertheless, this technique could have a role to play in developing less subjective methods of assessing pearl quality and in further studies of the relationships between pearl quality and that of the donor and recipient oysters.

  16. Integrated and holistic suitability assessment of recycling options for masonry rubble

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbst, T.; Rübner, K.; Meng, B.

    2012-04-01

    Our industrial society depends on continuous mining and consumption of raw materials and energy. Besides, the building sector causes one of the largest material streams in Germany. On the one hand, the building sector is connected with a high need in material and energetic resources as well as financial expenditures. On the other hand, nearly 50 % of the volume of waste arises from the building industry. During the last years, the limitation of natural resources, increasing negative environmental consequences as well as rising prices and shortages of dump space have led to a change in thinking in the building and waste industry to a closed substance cycle waste management. In consideration of the production figures of the main kinds of masonry units (clay bricks, sand-lime bricks, autoclaved aerated concrete brick, concrete blocks), a not unimportant quantity of masonry rubble (including gypsum plaster boards, renders, mortars and mineral insulating materials) of more than 20 million tons per year is generated in the medium term. With regard to a sustainable closed substance cycle waste management, these rest masses have to be recycled if possible. Processed aggregates made from masonry rubble can be recycled in the production of new masonry units under certain conditions. Even carefully deconstructed masonry units can once more re-used as masonry units, particularly in the area of the preservation of monuments and historical buildings. In addition, masonry rubble in different processing qualities is applied in earth and road construction, horticulture and scenery construction as well as concrete production. The choice of the most suitable recycling option causes technical, economical and ecological questions. At present, a methodology for a comprehensive suitability assessment with a passable scope of work does not exist. Basic structured and structuring information on the recycling of masonry rubble is absent up to now. This as well as the economic and technical

  17. Digital soil mapping in assessment of land suitability for organic farming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghambashidze, Giorgi; Kentchiashvili, Naira; Tarkhnishvili, Maia; Jolokhava, Tamar; Meskhi, Tea

    2017-04-01

    Digital soil mapping (DSM) is a fast-developing sub discipline of soil science which gets more importance along with increased availability of spatial data. DSM is based on three main components: the input in the form of field and laboratory observational methods, the process used in terms of spatial and non-spatial soil inference systems, and the output in the form of spatial soil information systems, which includes outputs in the form of rasters of prediction along with the uncertainty of prediction. Georgia is one of the countries who are under the way of spatial data infrastructure development, which includes soil related spatial data also. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate the capacity of DSM technics for planning and decision making process, in which assessment of land suitability is a major interest for those willing to grow agricultural crops. In that term land suitability assessment for establishing organic farms is in high demand as market for organically produced commodities is still increasing. It is the first attempt in Georgia to use DSM to predict areas with potential for organic farming development. Current approach is based on risk assessment of soil pollution with toxic elements (As, Hg, Pb, Cd, Cr) and prediction of bio-availability of those elements to plants on example of the region of Western Georgia, where detailed soil survey was conducted and spatial database of soil was created. The results of the study show the advantages of DSM at early stage assessment and depending on availability and quality of the input data, it can achieve acceptable accuracy.

  18. THE UNCERTAINTIES ON THE GIS BASED LAND SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR URBAN AND RURAL PLANNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Liu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The majority of the research on the uncertainties of spatial data and spatial analysis focuses on some specific data feature or analysis tool. Few have accomplished the uncertainties of the whole process of an application like planning, making the research of uncertainties detached from practical applications. The paper discusses the uncertainties of the geographical information systems (GIS based land suitability assessment in planning on the basis of literature review. The uncertainties considered range from index system establishment to the classification of the final result. Methods to reduce the uncertainties arise from the discretization of continuous raster data and the index weight determination are summarized. The paper analyzes the merits and demerits of the “Nature Breaks” method which is broadly used by planners. It also explores the other factors which impact the accuracy of the final classification like the selection of class numbers, intervals and the autocorrelation of the spatial data. In the conclusion part, the paper indicates that the adoption of machine learning methods should be modified to integrate the complexity of land suitability assessment. The work contributes to the application of spatial data and spatial analysis uncertainty research on land suitability assessment, and promotes the scientific level of the later planning and decision-making.

  19. Residual kidney function after donor nephrectomy. Assessment by 99mTc-MAG3-Clearance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamscho, N.; Doebert, N.; Menzel, C.; Berner, U.; Zaplatnikov, K.; Gruenwald, F.; Wilhelm, A.; Gossmann, J.; Scheuermann, E.H.

    2005-01-01

    Aim: We evaluated the long-term residual renal function after donor nephrectomy using 99m Tc-mercaptoacetyltriglycin (MAG3)-clearance. Donors, methods: Altogether 49 kidney donors were examined using 99m Tc-MAG3-clearance after nephrectomy for donation to a relative (m:f=11.38; age 55±27 years). The donors were examined 16±8 years postoperatively (1.5-26 years). 42 donors (86%) showed normal creatinine values, whereas the other seven (14%) exhibited slightly elevated levels. 20 donors were examined pre- and postoperatively and compared intraindividually. The kidney function was compared to the age adapted normal values of healthy persons with two kidneys (67-133% of age related mean). Results: After nephrectomy all donors showed a normal perfusion, good secretion, merely physiological intrarenal transit and a normal elimination from the kidneys. The 99m Tc-MAG3-clearance was 69±15% of the normal mean value of healthy carriers of two kidneys regardless of the gender. 20 donors with a preoperative examination showed a significantly reduced total renal function from 84±15% of the mean normal value preoperatively to 60±15% postoperatively (p 99m Tc-MAG3-clearance measured prior to nephrectomy and the clearance levels after nephrectomy. Also, no correlation between the preoperative 99m Tc-MAG3-clearance and the postoperative serum creatinine values could be observed. Althogether, 22% of the donors (11/49) developed arterial hypertension 10±8 years after donation (1-23 years). This corresponds to the normal age prevalence of hypertension in the carriers of two kidneys. Three donors suffered from arterial hypertension prior to the operation. Conclusion: Kidney donors with normal or slightly elevated creatinine values postoperatively show a 99m Tc-MAG3 clearance value of 69% of the mean value of healthy carriers of two kidneys. This may serve as a reference value for healthy carriers of one kidney. In our study we demonstrated a good compensation of the contralateral

  20. The ELPAT living organ donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT): from 'what' to 'how' of psychosocial screening - a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massey, Emma K; Timmerman, Lotte; Ismail, Sohal Y; Duerinckx, Nathalie; Lopes, Alice; Maple, Hannah; Mega, Inês; Papachristou, Christina; Dobbels, Fabienne

    2018-01-01

    Thorough psychosocial screening of donor candidates is required in order to minimize potential negative consequences and to strive for optimal safety within living donation programmes. We aimed to develop an evidence-based tool to standardize the psychosocial screening process. Key concepts of psychosocial screening were used to structure our tool: motivation and decision-making, personal resources, psychopathology, social resources, ethical and legal factors and information and risk processing. We (i) discussed how each item per concept could be measured, (ii) reviewed and rated available validated tools, (iii) where necessary developed new items, (iv) assessed content validity and (v) pilot-tested the new items. The resulting ELPAT living organ donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT) consists of a selection of validated questionnaires (28 items in total), a semi-structured interview (43 questions) and a Red Flag Checklist. We outline optimal procedures and conditions for implementing this tool. The EPAT and user manual are available from the authors. Use of this tool will standardize the psychosocial screening procedure ensuring that no psychosocial issues are overlooked and ensure that comparable selection criteria are used and facilitate generation of comparable psychosocial data on living donor candidates. © 2017 Steunstichting ESOT.

  1. Occlusive Hepatic Artery Thrombus in a Deceased-Donor Liver Procured From a Donor With Blunt Abdominal Trauma Following a Road Traffic Collision Accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Niaz; Tahir, Wasif; Haque, Ali; Dar, Faisal; Vilca-Melendez, Hector; Srinavasan, Parthi; Heaton, Nigel

    2018-04-09

    Here, we describe a case of occlusive hepatic artery thrombus in a liver procured from an 18-year-old deceased donor after circulatory death. The donor had died of multiple trauma following a road traffic collision. Occlusive thrombus was found at the hepatic artery bifurcation during back-table preparation. Consequently, the liver transplant did not proceed. We suggest careful assessment of hepatic arteries of all donor livers before transplant, particularly those from donors who are involved in deceleration injuries. Transplanting such livers may lead to primary nonfunction.

  2. MDCT evaluation of potential living renal donor, prior to laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: What the transplant surgeon wants to know?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nitin P Ghonge

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy (LDN offers several advantages for the donor such as lesser post-operative pain, fewer cosmetic concerns and faster recovery time, there is growing global trend towards LDN as compared to open nephrectomy. Comprehensive pre-LDN donor evaluation includes assessment of renal morphology including pelvi-calyceal and vascular system. Apart from donor selection, evaluation of the regional anatomy allows precise surgical planning. Due to limited visualization during laparoscopic renal harvesting, detailed pre-transplant evaluation of regional anatomy, including the renal venous anatomy is of utmost importance. MDCT is the modality of choice for pre-LDN evaluation of potential renal donors. Apart from appropriate scan protocol and post-processing methods, detailed understanding of surgical techniques is essential for the Radiologist for accurate image interpretation during pre-LDN MDCT evaluation of potential renal donors. This review article describes MDCT evaluation of potential living renal donor, prior to LDN with emphasis on scan protocol, post-processing methods and image interpretation. The article laid special emphasis on surgical perspectives of pre-LDN MDCT evaluation and addresses important points which transplant surgeons want to know.

  3. SYSTEMIC COMPLICATIONS AND THEIR RISK FACTORS AMONG TEHRANIAN BLOOD DONOR, 2005

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Majlessi

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The systemic complications of blood donation are the first reasons why patients fail to return for further blood donation. This study was designed to determine the frequency of these complications and their associated risk factors among blood donors in Tehran. Also, we aimed to provide suitable methods to decrease the frequency of these adverse events, thereby eliminating the most important causes of withdrawal, while maintaining the health of the donors. This analytical descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 554 blood donors who had donated blood from February 2005 through September 2005 in four fixed blood donation bases and four mobile blood collection buses. Each base was considered as a stratum, and a stratified random sampling proportional to size was done to select the donors. Results showed donor reaction rate to be 13.4%, the most common of which were blackout of vision (7%, dizziness (6.3%, fatigue (6.1% and nausea (1.8%. There was no significant relationship between the incidence of these complications and type of base blood donation or fasting at the time of blood donation. Logistic Regression analysis showed that sex, condition of blood donor, exercise or walking, duration of donation, and practice to recommendation had significant effects on the odds ratio of systemic complication. Regarding the frequency values derived for the different systemic complications it can be concluded that attention to risk factors of these complications and their control can help encourage donors to become repeated donors as well as to prevent their withdrawal for further blood donation.

  4. Evaluation of living liver donors using contrast enhanced multidetector CT – The radiologists impact on donor selection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ringe, Kristina Imeen; Ringe, Bastian Paul; Falck, Christian von; Shin, Hoen-oh; Becker, Thomas; Pfister, Eva-Doreen; Wacker, Frank; Ringe, Burckhardt

    2012-01-01

    Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a valuable and legitimate treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. Computed tomography (CT) has proven to be an important tool in the process of donor evaluation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of CT in the donor selection process. Between May 1999 and October 2010 170 candidate donors underwent biphasic CT. We retrospectively reviewed the results of the CT and liver volumetry, and assessed reasons for rejection. 89 candidates underwent partial liver resection (52.4%). Based on the results of liver CT and volumetry 22 candidates were excluded as donors (31% of the cases). Reasons included fatty liver (n = 9), vascular anatomical variants (n = 4), incidental finding of hemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia (n = 1) and small (n = 5) or large for size (n = 5) graft volume. CT based imaging of the liver in combination with dedicated software plays a key role in the process of evaluation of candidates for LDLT. It may account for up to 1/3 of the contraindications for LDLT

  5. Readability, Suitability and Health Content Assessment of Cancer Screening Announcements in Municipal Newspapers in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuhara, Tsuyoshi; Ishikawa, Hirono; Okada, Hiroko; Kiuchi, Takahiro

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the readability, suitability, and health content of cancer screening information in municipal newspapers in Japan. Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) and the framework of Health Belief Model (HBM) were used for assessment of municipal newspapers that were published in central Tokyo (23 wards) from January to December 2013. The mean domain SAM scores of content, literacy demand, and layout/typography were considered superior. The SAM scores of interaction with readers, an indication of the models of desirable actions, and elaboration to enhance readers' self-efficacy were low. According to the HBM coding, messages of medical/clinical severity, of social severity, of social benefits, and of barriers of fear were scarce. The articles were generally well written and suitable. However, learning stimulation/motivation was scarce and the HBM constructs were not fully addressed. Articles can be improved to motivate readers to obtain cancer screening by increasing interaction with readers, introducing models of desirable actions and devices to raise readers' self-efficacy, and providing statements of perceived barriers of fear for pain and time constraints, perceived severity, and social benefits and losses.

  6. The ability of the general male public to assess their suitability to take 50-mg sildenafil: an assessment of the comprehension of patient information materials via internet survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symonds, Tara; Coyne, Karin S; Margolis, Mary Kay; Schnetzler, Gabriel

    2011-07-01

    Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common male sexual dysfunction and has a negative impact on masculinity and self-esteem. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, including sildenafil, are the first-line treatment option for ED. Providing appropriate information regarding suitability for using sildenafil is important. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a broad spectrum of men could appropriately evaluate their suitability for 50-mg sildenafil after reviewing patient information materials. Patient information (Pack) on appropriate use of 50-mg sildenafil and patient information leaflet (PIL), a Web survey including demographics, self-assessed suitability for sildenafil use, and suitability screener. A randomly selected, population-representative Web-based panel of males in the UK was recruited for this study. Eligible men answered a brief sociodemographic questionnaire and then were presented with the Pack. If a participant desired additional information, he could also review the PIL. The participants then rated the Pack and PIL (if reviewed), self-assessed their suitability for sildenafil use, and completed a previously validated screener for suitability. A total of 1,275 men aged 40 and above were included in these analyses; the mean age was 57.8 ± 9.9 years. A total of 1,054 men reported ED; 517 men (40.5%) deemed themselves suitable for sildenafil; 504 men (39.6%) deemed themselves unsuitable; and 254 (19.9%) were unsure. The concordance rate between screener-assessed suitability and self-assessed suitability was 70.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 68.1-73.7%). When accounting for men who would not take sildenafil even though they were suitable or would seek additional information from a healthcare professional prior to using sildenafil, the concordance rate was 84.2% (95% CI = 82.2-86.2%). The results of this study suggest that men in the general population are capable of using written sildenafil patient education materials to accurately assess

  7. The potential of cardiac allografts from donors after cardiac death at the University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaki, Satoru; Anderson, James E; Johnson, Maryl R; Edwards, Niloo M; Kohmoto, Takushi

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential availability of hearts from adult donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors within an acceptable hypoxic period. We retrospectively reviewed a donor database from the University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization Donor Tracking System between 2004 and 2006. The DCD population (n=78) was screened using our inclusion criteria for DCD cardiac donor suitability, including warm ischaemic time (WIT) limit of 30 min. In the same period, 70 hearts were donated from brain-dead donors. Of 78 DCD donors, 12 (15%) met our proposed DCD cardiac donor criteria. The mean WIT of these 12 DCD donors was 21 min (range 14-29 min). When inclusion criteria are further narrowed to (1) age Based on our proposed DCD cardiac donor criteria, the potential application of DCD cardiac donors would represent an increase in cardiac donation of 17% (12/70) during the 3-year period. When the criteria were narrowed to the initial 'ideal' case, only two donors met such criteria, suggesting that such 'ideal' DCD donors are rare but they do exist. Copyright 2009 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Analysis of blood donor pre-donation deferral in Dubai: characteristics and reasons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al Shaer L

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Laila Al Shaer,1 Ranjita Sharma,2 Mahera AbdulRahman2 1College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE; 2Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, UAE Background: To ensure an adequate and safe blood supply, it is crucial to select suitable donors according to stringent eligibility criteria. Understanding the reasons for donor deferral can help in planning more efficient recruitment strategies and evaluating donor selection criteria. This study aims to define donor pre-donation deferral rates, causes of deferral, and characteristics of deferred donors in Dubai.Materials and methods: This retrospective study was conducted on all donors who presented for allogeneic blood donation between January 1, 2010, until June 30, 2013, in Dubai Blood Donation Centre, accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks. The donation and deferral data were analyzed to determine the demographic characteristics of accepted and deferred donors, and frequency analyses were also conducted.Results: Among 142,431 individuals presenting during the study period, 114,827 (80.6% were accepted for donation, and 27,604 (19.4% were deferred. The overall proportion of deferrals was higher among individuals less than 21 years old (35%, P<0.000, females (44% were deferred compared to 15% of males, P<0.0001, and first-time donors (22% were deferred vs 14% of repeat donors, P<0.0001. The main causes for a temporary deferral were low hemoglobin and high blood pressure.Discussion: The deferral rate among blood donors in Dubai is relatively high compared to the internationally reported rates. This rate was higher among first-time donors and females, with low hemoglobin as the major factor leading to a temporary deferral of donors. Strategies to mitigate deferral and improve blood donor retention are urged in Dubai to avoid additional stress on the blood supply. Keywords: blood donation, blood safety, donor deferral, selection criteria 

  9. The Stem Cell Club: a model for unrelated stem cell donor recruitment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fingrut, Warren; Parmar, Simran; Cuperfain, Ari; Rikhraj, Kiran; Charman, Erin; Ptak, Emilie; Kahlon, Manjot; Graham, Alice; Luong, Susan; Wang, Yongjun George; Yu, Janice; Arora, Neha; Suppiah, Roopa; Li, Edward W; Lee, Anna; Welsh, Christopher; Benzaquen, Menachem; Thatcher, Alicia; Baharmand, Iman; Ladd, Aedan; Petraszko, Tanya; Allan, David; Messner, Hans

    2017-12-01

    Patients with blood, immune, or metabolic diseases may require a stem cell transplant as part of their treatment. However, 70% of patients do not have a suitable human leukocyte antigen match in their family, and need an unrelated donor. Individuals can register as potential donors at stem cell drives, where they provide consent and a tissue sample for human leukocyte antigen typing. The ideal donors are young, male, and from a diversity of ethnic backgrounds. However, in Canada, non-Caucasian males ages 17 to 35 years represent only 8.8% of listed donors. The Stem Cell Club is a non-profit organization founded in 2011 in Canada that aims to augment recruitment of the most needed donors. The initiative published a recruitment toolkit online (www.stemcellclub.ca). Currently, there are 12 chapters at universities across Canada. To date, the Stem Cell Club has recruited 6585 potential registrants, representing 1.63% of donors on Canada's donor-database. Of the recruited registrants, 58.3% were male; 60.3% of males self-reported as non-Caucasian, and 78.5% were ages 17 to 25 years. From 2015 to 2016, the initiative recruited 13.7% of all ethnically diverse males ages 17 to 35 years listed in Canada's donor database. Data from this initiative demonstrate sustainability and performance on key indicators of stem cell drive quality. The Stem Cell Club has developed a capacity to recruit 2600 donors annually, with the majority being males with a high degree of ethnic diversity. The initiative enhances the quality of Canada's unrelated donor-database, improving the chances that patients in need of an unrelated donor will find a match for transplant. The Stem Cell Club is a model relevant to recruitment organizations around the world. © 2017 AABB.

  10. Gamete donation: parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, T; Jadva, V; Kramer, W; Golombok, S

    2009-03-01

    This study investigates the new phenomenon of parents of donor offspring searching for and contacting their child's 'donor siblings' (i.e. donor offspring conceived by the same donor) and donor. Online questionnaires were completed by 791 parents (39% lone-mother, 35% lesbian-couple, 21% heterosexual-couple, 5% non-specified) recruited via the Donor Sibling Registry; a US-based international registry that facilitates contact between donor conception families who share the same donor. Data were collected on parents' reasons for searching for their child's donor siblings and/or donor, the outcome of these searches and parents' and their child's experiences of any resulting contact. Parents' principal motivation for searching for their child's donor siblings was curiosity and for their donor, enhancing their child's sense of identity. Some parents had discovered large numbers of donor siblings (maximum = 55). Most parents reported positive experiences of contacting and meeting their child's donor siblings and donor. This study highlights that having access to information about a child's donor origins is important for some parents and has potentially positive consequences. These findings have wider implications because the removal of donor anonymity in the UK and elsewhere means that increasing numbers of donor offspring are likely to seek contact with their donor relations in the future.

  11. The doctor-patient relationship in living donor kidney transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danovitch, Gabriel M

    2007-11-01

    A therapeutic and effective doctor-patient relationship and patient-doctor relationship is at the core of all successful medical care. The medical and psychological evaluation of a potential kidney donor serves to protect the long-term health of both the donor and the potential recipient. Careful assessment of risk and donor education is at the core of donor evaluation and the decision to progress with donation requires refined clinical judgment by the medical team and critical thinking by the donor. Increasing pressure to increase the numbers of living donor transplants and suggestions by some that the process should be commercialized make it timely to consider the nature of the relationship between the doctor and the patient in the unusual circumstance of living donation. A high rate of complications in recipients of purchased kidneys and a lack of knowledge of the fate of paid donors have been reported. Commercialization of transplantation undermines the therapeutic doctor-patient relationship and threatens the healthy development of the international transplant endeavor.

  12. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy versus open donor nephrectomy: Recipient′s perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tukaram E Jamale

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Effects of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN on graft function, especially early post-transplant, have been controversial. To assess and compare early and late graft function in kidneys procured by open and laparoscopic methods, a retrospective observational study was carried out on 37 recipients-donors who underwent LDN after introduction of this technique in February 2007 at our center, a tertiary care nephrology referral center. Demographic, immunological and intraoperative variables as well as immunosuppressive protocols and number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA mismatches were noted. Early graft function was assessed by serum creatinine on Days two, five, seven, 14 and 28 and at the time of discharge. Serum creatinine values at three months and at one year post-transplant were considered as the surrogates of late graft function. Data obtained were compared with the data from 33 randomly selected kidney transplants performed after January 2000 by the same surgical team, in whom open donor nephrectomy was used. Pearson′s chi square test, Student′s t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Early graft function (serum creatinine on Day five 2.15 mg/dL vs 1.49 mg/dL, P = 0.027 was poorer in the LDN group. Late graft function as assessed by serum creatinine at three months (1.45 mg/dL vs 1.31 mg/dL, P = 0.335 and one year (1.56 mg/dL vs 1.34 mg/dL, P = 0.275 was equivalent in the two groups. Episodes of early acute graft dysfunction due to acute tubular necrosis were significantly higher in the LDN group (37.8% vs 12.1%, Z score 2.457, P = 0.014. Warm ischemia time was significantly prolonged in the LDN group (255 s vs 132.5 s, P = 0.002. LDN is associated with slower recovery of graft function and higher incidence of early acute graft dysfunction due to acute tubular necrosis. Late graft function at one year is however comparable.

  13. Embryo donation parents' attitudes towards donors: comparison with adoption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacCallum, Fiona

    2009-03-01

    Embryo donation produces a family structure where neither rearing parent is genetically related to the child, as in adoption. It is not known how embryo donation parents view the donors compared with how adoptive parents view the birth parents. 21 couples with an embryo donation child aged 2-5 years were compared with 28 couples with an adopted child. Parents were administered a semi-structured interview, assessing knowledge of the donors/birth parents, frequency of thoughts and discussions about the donors/birth parents and disclosure of the donor conception/adoption to the child. Comparisons were made between mothers and fathers to examine gender differences. Embryo donation parents generally knew only the donors' physical characteristics, and thought about and talked about the donors less frequently than adoptive parents thought about and talked about the birth parents. Embryo donation fathers tended to think about the donors less often than did mothers. Disclosure of the child's origins in embryo donation families was far less common than in adoptive families (P parents' views on the donors differ from adoptive parents' views on the birth parents, with donors having little significance in family life once treatment is successful.

  14. Evaluation of living liver donors using contrast enhanced multidetector CT – The radiologists impact on donor selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ringe Kristina

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT is a valuable and legitimate treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. Computed tomography (CT has proven to be an important tool in the process of donor evaluation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of CT in the donor selection process. Methods Between May 1999 and October 2010 170 candidate donors underwent biphasic CT. We retrospectively reviewed the results of the CT and liver volumetry, and assessed reasons for rejection. Results 89 candidates underwent partial liver resection (52.4%. Based on the results of liver CT and volumetry 22 candidates were excluded as donors (31% of the cases. Reasons included fatty liver (n = 9, vascular anatomical variants (n = 4, incidental finding of hemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia (n = 1 and small (n = 5 or large for size (n = 5 graft volume. Conclusion CT based imaging of the liver in combination with dedicated software plays a key role in the process of evaluation of candidates for LDLT. It may account for up to 1/3 of the contraindications for LDLT.

  15. Associations of health status with subsequent blood donor behavior-An alternative perspective on the Healthy Donor Effect from Donor InSight

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Hurk, Katja; Zalpuri, Saurabh; Prinsze, Femmeke J.; Merz, Eva-Maria; de Kort, Wim L. A. M.

    2017-01-01

    In donor health research, the 'Healthy Donor Effect' (HDE) often biases study results and hampers their interpretation. This refers to the fact that donors are a selected 'healthier' subset of a population due to both donor selection procedures and self-selection. Donors with long versus short donor

  16. Experiences of offspring searching for and contacting their donor siblings and donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadva, Vasanti; Freeman, Tabitha; Kramer, Wendy; Golombok, Susan

    2010-04-01

    This study investigates a new phenomenon whereby individuals conceived by donor insemination are searching for and contacting their donor and/or 'donor siblings' (i.e. donor offspring conceived by the same donor who are their genetic half siblings). On-line questionnaires were completed by members of the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR), a US-based registry that facilitates contact between donor conception families who share the same donor. Of the 165 donor offspring who completed the survey, 15% were searching for their donor siblings, 13% were searching for their donor, and 64% were searching for both. Differences were found according to family type and age of disclosure. Fewer offspring from heterosexual couple families had told their father about their search when compared with offspring from lesbian couple families who had told their co-parent. Offspring who had found out about their conception after age 18 were more likely to be searching for medical reasons, whereas those who had found out before age 18 tended to be searching out of curiosity. Some offspring had discovered large numbers of half siblings (maximum=13). The majority of offspring who had found their donor relations reported positive experiences and remained in regular contact with them. Copyright (c) 2010 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Blood donors screening for malaria in non-endemic area in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Is it necessary to introduce immunological testing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elyamany, Ghaleb; Al Gharawi, Ali; Alrasheed, Mohammed; Alsuhaibani, Omar

    2016-02-01

    In Saudi Arabia, where malaria is not endemic, the incidence is very low. However, malaria transmission cases have been reported, mainly in Asir and Jazan provinces along the Southwestern border with Yemen. Imported cases also have been reported. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of malaria in blood donors in a tertiary care hospital in the central area of Saudi Arabia and to assess the effectiveness of malaria screening methods used by transfusion services in Prince Sultan Military Medical City. This study was conducted on 180,000 people who donated blood during 2006-2015. All blood smears from blood donors were screened for malaria infection using Giemsa staining, low power and high power microscopic examinations, and using oil immersion lens. The data were analyzed and reported in descriptive statistics and prevalence. From the total of 180,000 blood donors who were screened for malaria, 156,000 (87%) and 23.400 (13%) were Saudi Arabia citizens and non-Saudi residents, respectively. The mean age of the blood donors was 32 (ranging from 18 to 65), 97% and 3% were male and female, respectively. Using our current method for malaria screening, the prevalence of malaria in the study population was zero. The current methods of malaria screening in blood donors is not suitable for screening low-level parasiotemia. Adding the immunoassay and molecular screening methods is suggested.

  18. Hemochromatosis Patients as Voluntary Blood Donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tara E Power

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study was designed to investigate hemochromatosis patients' suitability as blood donors as well as their perceptions and experience with the current public donation system. Participants were gathered from a list of current hemochromatosis patients (n=120 and members of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society (n=1000. Of the 1120 surveys mailed out to these groups, 801 surveys were returned completed. The sample respondents had a mean age of 57.44 years (SD=12.73; range 19 to 87 years, and 57% were men. It was found that 20% (160 of the respondents have donated blood since their diagnosis; however, only 12% of the respondents indicated that they use voluntary blood donation as a means of maintaining their iron levels. Forty per cent of the respondents indicated that they had been refused from voluntary donation. Despite the fact that in May 2001 the Canadian Blood Services, in collaboration with the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, began a promotion campaign to encourage hemochromatosis patients to become voluntary blood donors, the present study found that 15% of the respondents reported having been refused from the voluntary blood donation service due to the diagnosis of hemochromatosis. With respect to quality of life, it was found that individuals who donate blood were generally healthier with respect to physical functioning and bodily pain, however, these findings may indicate that hemochromatosis patients who are healthier are better able to donate at public blood banks, rather than that voluntary blood donation has an effect on the donors' physical functioning over phlebotomy clinic users. These study findings suggest that although there may be other medical factors limiting individuals from donating, hemochromatosis patients are interested in being voluntary blood donors and this potential resource is currently under-used.

  19. Organic substrates as electron donors in permeable reactive barriers for removal of heavy metals from acid mine drainage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kijjanapanich, P; Pakdeerattanamint, K; Lens, P N L; Annachhatre, A P

    2012-12-01

    This research was conducted to select suitable natural organic substrates as potential carbon sources for use as electron donors for biological sulphate reduction in a permeable reactive barrier (PRB). A number of organic substrates were assessed through batch and continuous column experiments under anaerobic conditions with acid mine drainage (AMD) obtained from an abandoned lignite coal mine. To keep the heavy metal concentration at a constant level, the AMD was supplemented with heavy metals whenever necessary. Under anaerobic conditions, sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) converted sulphate into sulphide using the organic substrates as electron donors. The sulphide that was generated precipitated heavy metals as metal sulphides. Organic substrates, which yielded the highest sulphate reduction in batch tests, were selected for continuous column experiments which lasted over 200 days. A mixture of pig-farm wastewater treatment sludge, rice husk and coconut husk chips yielded the best heavy metal (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) removal efficiencies of over 90%.

  20. Donor Lung Procurement by Surgical Fellow with an Expectation of High Rate of Lung Utilisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smail, Hassiba; Saxena, Pankaj; Wallinder, Andreas; Lin, Enjarn; Snell, Gregory I; Hobson, Jamie; Zimmet, Adam D; Marasco, Silvana F; McGiffin, David C

    2017-12-22

    There is an ever increasing demand for donor lungs in patients waiting for transplantation. Lungs of many potential donors will be rejected if the standard criteria for donor assessment are followed. We have expanded our donor lung pool by accepting marginal donors and establishing a donation after circulatory death program. We have achieved comparable results using marginal donors and accepting donor lungs following donation after circulatory death. We present our assessment and technical guidelines on lung procurement taking into consideration an increasingly complex cohort of lung donors. These guidelines form the basis of the lung procurement training program involving surgical Fellows at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Copyright © 2017 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Multidetector computed tomography with triple-bolus contrast medium administration protocol for preoperative anatomical and functional assessment of potential living renal donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knox, Matthew K.; Rivers-Bowerman, Michael D.; Bardgett, Harry P.; Cowan, Nigel C.

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) with a triple-bolus contrast administration protocol for preoperative anatomical and functional assessment of living renal donors. Fifty-five potential living renal donors underwent MDCT of which 27 proceeded to donor nephrectomy. A triple-bolus contrast administration protocol was used for simultaneous acquisition of arterial, nephrographic, and excretory phases. MDCT images were independently reviewed in random order by two radiologists blinded to surgical anatomy findings. Diagnostic accuracy for anatomical variants was quantified by sensitivity and specificity. Differential renal function (DRF) was derived from MDCT for 54 patients and compared with technetium-99 m dimercaptosuccinic acid renography (Tc-99 m DMSA). All triple-bolus MDCT examinations were technically adequate. Accessory renal arteries and veins were identified at surgery in 33% (n = 9/27) and 22% (n = 6/27) of donor kidneys. The mean difference between MDCT-derived DRF and DMSA was 0.8% (95% CI 0.1-1.6) with 95% limits of agreement of -4.6% (95% CI -3.3 to -5.9) to 6.3% (95% CI 5.0-7.6). MDCT delivered a mean (SD, range) radiation dose of 9.5 (3.6, 3.6-17.3) mSv. MDCT with a triple-bolus contrast administration provides accurate anatomical and functional evaluation of living renal donors. (orig.)

  2. Multidetector computed tomography with triple-bolus contrast medium administration protocol for preoperative anatomical and functional assessment of potential living renal donors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knox, Matthew K. [University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, UME Office, Health Sciences Centre, Calgary, Alberta (Canada); Rivers-Bowerman, Michael D. [University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, MD Undergraduate Program, Diamond Health Care Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Bardgett, Harry P. [Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Department of Radiology, Bradford (United Kingdom); Cowan, Nigel C. [The Churchill Hospital, Department of Radiology, Oxford (United Kingdom)

    2010-11-15

    To evaluate multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) with a triple-bolus contrast administration protocol for preoperative anatomical and functional assessment of living renal donors. Fifty-five potential living renal donors underwent MDCT of which 27 proceeded to donor nephrectomy. A triple-bolus contrast administration protocol was used for simultaneous acquisition of arterial, nephrographic, and excretory phases. MDCT images were independently reviewed in random order by two radiologists blinded to surgical anatomy findings. Diagnostic accuracy for anatomical variants was quantified by sensitivity and specificity. Differential renal function (DRF) was derived from MDCT for 54 patients and compared with technetium-99 m dimercaptosuccinic acid renography (Tc-99 m DMSA). All triple-bolus MDCT examinations were technically adequate. Accessory renal arteries and veins were identified at surgery in 33% (n = 9/27) and 22% (n = 6/27) of donor kidneys. The mean difference between MDCT-derived DRF and DMSA was 0.8% (95% CI 0.1-1.6) with 95% limits of agreement of -4.6% (95% CI -3.3 to -5.9) to 6.3% (95% CI 5.0-7.6). MDCT delivered a mean (SD, range) radiation dose of 9.5 (3.6, 3.6-17.3) mSv. MDCT with a triple-bolus contrast administration provides accurate anatomical and functional evaluation of living renal donors. (orig.)

  3. Longitudinal Assessment of Renal Perfusion and Oxygenation in Transplant Donor-Recipient Pairs Using Arterial Spin Labeling and Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niles, David J; Artz, Nathan S; Djamali, Arjang; Sadowski, Elizabeth A; Grist, Thomas M; Fain, Sean B

    2016-02-01

    The aims of this study were to assess renal function in kidney transplant recipients and their respective donors over 2 years using arterial spin labeling (ASL) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to prospectively evaluate the effect of losartan on functional MRI measures in recipients. The study included 15 matched pairs of renal transplant donors and recipients. Arterial spin labeling and BOLD MRI of the kidneys were performed on donors before transplant surgery (baseline) and on both donors and recipients at 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years after transplant. After 3 months, 7 of the 15 recipients were prescribed 25 to 50 mg/d losartan for the remainder of the study. A linear mixed-effects model was used to evaluate perfusion, R2*, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and fractional excretion of sodium for changes across time or associated with losartan treatment. In donors, cortical perfusion in the remaining kidney decreased by 50 ± 19 mL/min per 100 g (11.8%) between baseline and 2 years (P donors and to 14.6 ± 4.3 mL/min per 1.73 m (33.3%; P donors, and they indicate a potentially beneficial effect of losartan in recipients.

  4. Niche suitability affects development: skull asymmetry increases in less suitable areas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renan Maestri

    Full Text Available For conservation purposes, it is important to take into account the suitability of a species to particular habitats; this information may predict the long-term survival of a species. In this sense, morphological measures of developmental stress, such as fluctuating asymmetry, can be proxies for an individual's performance in different regions. In this study, we conducted tests to determine whether areas with different levels of suitability for a species (generated by ecological niche models were congruent with morphological markers that reflect environmental stress and morphological variance. We generated a Maxent niche model and compared the suitability assessments of several areas with the skull morphology data (fluctuating asymmetry and morphological disparity of populations of the Atlantic forest endemic to Brazil rodent Akodon cursor. Our analyses showed a significant negative relationship between suitability levels and fluctuating asymmetry levels, which indicates that in less suitable areas, the individuals experience numerous disturbances during skull ontogeny. We have not found an association between morphological variance and environmental suitability. As expected, these results suggest that in environments with a lower suitability, developmental stress is increased. Such information is helpful in the understanding of the species evolution and in the selection of priority areas for the conservation of species.

  5. Sero prevalence of hepatitis -C antibodies in blood donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, M.U.; Akhtar, G.N.; Lodhi, Y.

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To assess the prevalence of anti HCV antibodies in blood donors. Design: The retrospective sero-epidemiological data of the institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Service, Punjab over a period of one year after starting HCV screening, was analyzed to estimate the percentage prevalence. Setting; The data was obtained regularly from the blood units established by this institute at the pablic sector hospitals and retesting on initially reactive serum sample by EIA was done at the Institute. Subjects: A total of 166183 directed first time donors or replacement blood donors aged 18-60 years who donated blood at these blood banks or at mobile sessions have been included in the study. All initially reactive donors who tested non-reactive on EIA were excluded from the study. Main outcome Measures: Assessment of prevalence of HCV in blood donors. Results: 4.45% of the total donors intially tested reactive of these 0.36 % were atsety reactive on intial screening. Further testing by EIA, 4.1%. Conclusions: The blood transfusion service started screening for HCV in April 2000 and the prevalence of HCV, amongst the transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) being screened for in the Punjab, is the highest. It is almost double the prevalence of HBV and several thousand time that of HIV. Meticulous and total screening coverage is needed to curtail impending catastrophe. With experience, the choice of testing methodology might have to be reviewed. (author)

  6. RECRUITMENT OF PATIENTS WITH HEREDITARY HAEMOCHROMATOSIS AS BLOOD DONORS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marko Cukjati

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Background. Hereditary haemochromatosis is the most common inherited disorder in white persons with prevalence of about 1 in 200. Therapeutic phlebotomy is an effective treatment for the disease and prevents its sequele. In addition to their altruism, patients with hereditary haemochromatosis have also medical and monetary incentives for blood donation. Current guidelines do not allow haemochromatosis patients to donate blood. About two thirds of patients are eligible as blood donors and about two thirds of therapeutically drawn blood is suitable for transfusion. Therapeutically drawn blood could increase the blood supply by 1.5 to 30%.Conclusions. The number of states that already accept patients with hereditary haemochromatosis as blood donors is increasing. To avoid monetary incentives they offer free phlebotomies for all patients with hereditary haemochromatosis. There have been no reports about higher incidence of transfusion reactions. In Slovenia the number of therapeutic phlebotomy is increasing. We should evaluate the possibilities for recruitment of haemochromatosis patients as blood donors also in our country. It is necessary to modify regulatory restrictions and to ensure that there is no other incentives than altruism for blood donation.

  7. The impact of donor policies in Europe: a steady increase, but not everywhere.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coppen, R.; Friele, R.D.; Gevers, J.K.M.; Blok, G.A.; Zee, J. van der

    2008-01-01

    Background: Transplantable organs are scarce everywhere. Therefore, countries have developed policies to support the efficient use of potential donors. Nevertheless, the shortage of organs remains. Were these policies in vain? The aim of this study is to assess the impact of donor policies on donor

  8. Discussion of quantitative assessment index system of suitability of the site for geological disposal repository of high-level radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Rui; Wang Ju

    2014-01-01

    Site selection and suitability assessment of site are one of important tasks of research and development of geological disposal engineering for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Quantitative assessment of suitability of the site is based on the scientific, reasonable and operational index system. The discussion of index screening of quantitative assessment of suitability of the site is conducted. Principle of index screening is presented and index systems are established for different stages of site selection, including planning stage of site selection, region or area investigation stage, site characterization and site confirmation stage. But the considerations are taken of the complexity of site selection of geological disposal engineering for HLW and itself development of quantitative assessment method, so improvement of the index systems presented above is needed in the further. (authors)

  9. Donor, dad, or…? Young adults with lesbian parents' experiences with known donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Abbie E; Allen, Katherine R

    2013-06-01

    In this exploratory qualitative study of 11 young adults, ages 19-29 years, we examine how young people who were raised by lesbian parents make meaning out of and construct their relationships with known donors. In-depth interviews were conducted to examine how participants defined their family composition, how they perceived the role of their donors in their lives, and how they negotiated their relationships with their donors. Findings indicate that mothers typically chose known donors who were family friends, that the majority of participants always knew who their donors were, and that their contact with donors ranged from minimal to involved. Further, participants perceived their donors in one of three ways: as strictly donors and not members of their family; as extended family members but not as parents; and as fathers. The more limited role of donors in participants' construction of family relationships sheds light on how children raised in lesbian, gay, and bisexual families are contributing to the redefinition and reconstruction of complex kinship arrangements. Our findings hold implications for clinicians who work with lesbian-mother families, and suggest that young adulthood is an important developmental phase during which interest in and contact with the donor may shift, warranting a transfer of responsibility from mother to offspring in terms of managing the donor-child relationship. © FPI, Inc.

  10. Test plan for suitability assessment of five overcoring stress measurement techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregory, E.C.; Rundle, T.A.; McCabe, W.M.; Kim, K.

    1982-08-01

    Tests are to be conducted at the Near-Surface Test Facility (NSTF) to assess the suitability of five overcoring techniques for in situ stress determination in a jointed basalt. The overcoring methods to be investigated use the following instrumentation to measure strain relief by overcoring a pilot borehole: USBM borehole deformation gage, CSIRO hollow inclusion stress cell, cast epoxy inclusion, the Lulea triaxial strain cell and the ''doorstopper'' biaxial strain cell. The tests are to provide data regarding the state of stress below the NSTF. This information is to be used in the evaluation of each method of overcoring. During the course of field testing, an attempt is to be made to adapt conventional overcoring techniques and analytical methods to the basalt medium. If overcoring stress determination in basalt is shown suitable, then additional studies will be identified to further adapt a technique for use at depth. In addition to the five overcoring techniques to be tested at the NSTF, stress measurements by Hydrofracturing are to be conducted to provide data for direct comparison with overcoring results. 16 refs., 18 figs

  11. Electrocardiographic Characteristics of Potential Organ Donors and Associations with Cardiac Allograft Utilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khush, Kiran K.; Menza, Rebecca; Nguyen, John; Goldstein, Benjamin A.; Zaroff, Jonathan G.; Drew, Barbara J.

    2012-01-01

    Background Current regulations require that all cardiac allograft offers for transplantation must include an interpreted 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). However, little is known about the expected ECG findings in potential organ donors, or the clinical significance of any identified abnormalities in terms of cardiac allograft function and suitability for transplantation. Methods and Results A single experienced reviewer interpreted the first ECG obtained after brainstem herniation in 980 potential organ donors managed by the California Transplant Donor Network from 2002-2007. ECG abnormalities were summarized, and associations between specific ECG findings and cardiac allograft utilization for transplantation were studied. ECG abnormalities were present in 51% of all cases reviewed. The most common abnormalities included voltage criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), prolongation of the corrected QT interval (QTc), and repolarization changes (ST/T wave abnormalities). Fifty seven percent of potential cardiac allografts in this cohort were accepted for transplantation. LVH on ECG was a strong predictor of allograft non-utilization. No significant associations were seen between QTc prolongation, repolarization changes and allograft utilization for transplantation, after adjusting for donor clinical variables and echocardiographic findings. Conclusions We have performed the first comprehensive study of ECG findings in potential donors for cardiac transplantation. Many of the common ECG abnormalities seen in organ donors may result from the heightened state of sympathetic activation that occurs after brainstem herniation, and are not associated with allograft utilization for transplantation. PMID:22615333

  12. [Ecological suitability assessment and optimization of urban land expansion space in Guiyang City].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Cong-hao; Li, Yang-bing; Feng, Yuan-song

    2015-09-01

    Based on the case study of Guiyang City, the minimum cumulative resistance model integrating construction land source, ecological rigid constraints and ecological function type resistance factor, was built by use of cost-distance analysis of urban spatial expansion resistance value through ArcGIS 9.3 software in this paper. Then, the ecological resistance of city spatial expansion of Guiyang from 2010 was simulated dynamically and the ecological suitability classification of city spatial expansion was assessed. According to the conflict between the newly increased city construction land in 2014 and its ecological suitability, the unreasonable city land spatial allocation was discussed also. The results showed that the ecological suitability zonation and the city expansion in the study area were basically consistent during 2010-2014, but the conflict between the new city construction and its land ecological suitability was more serious. The ecological conflict area accounted for 58.2% of the new city construction sites, 35.4% of which happened in the ecological control area, 13.9% in the limited development area and 8.9% in the prohibition development area. The intensification of ecological land use conflict would impair the ecological service function and ecological safety, so this paper put forward the city spatial expansion optimal path to preserve the ecological land and improve the construction land space pattern of Guiyang City so as to ensure its ecological safety.

  13. 78 FR 26799 - Waterway Suitability Assessment for Expansion of Liquefied Gas Terminals; Beaumont, TX

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-08

    ... Partnership LP has submitted a Letter of Intent and a Waterway Suitability Assessment to the Coast Guard.... Martin Operating Partnership's Stanolind Cut Terminal in Beaumont, Texas submitted an LOI on January 25... the physical nature of the affected waterway and issues of safety and security associated with LNG or...

  14. Assessing the suitability of stream water for five different uses and its aquatic environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulazzaky, Mohamad Ali

    2013-01-01

    Surface water is one of the essential resources for supporting sustainable development. The suitability of such water for a given use depends both on the available quantity and tolerable quality. Temporary status for a surface water quality has been identified extensively. Still the suitability of the water for different purposes needs to be verified. This study proposes a water quality evaluation system to assess the aptitude of the Selangor River water for aquatic biota, drinking water production, leisure and aquatic sport, irrigation use, livestock watering, and aquaculture use. Aptitude of the water has been classified in many parts of the river segment as unsuitable for aquatic biota, drinking water production, leisure and aquatic sport as well as aquaculture use. The water quality aptitude classes of the stream water for nine locations along the river are evaluated to contribute to decision support system. The suitability of the water for five different uses and its aquatic ecosystem are verified.

  15. Effect of donor orientation on ultrafast intermolecular electron transfer in coumarin-amine systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, P. K.; Nath, S.; Bhasikuttan, A. C.; Kumbhakar, M.; Mohanty, J.; Sarkar, S. K.; Mukherjee, T.; Pal, H.

    2008-01-01

    Effect of donor amine orientation on nondiffusive ultrafast intermolecular electron transfer (ET) reactions in coumarin-amine systems has been investigated using femtosecond fluorescence upconversion measurements. Intermolecular ET from different aromatic and aliphatic amines used as donor solvents to the excited coumarin-151 (C151) acceptor occurs with ultrafast rates such that the shortest fluorescence lifetime component (τ 1 ) is the measure of the fastest ET rate (τ 1 =τ ET fast =(k ET fast ) -1 ), assigned to the C151-amine contact pairs in which amine donors are properly oriented with respect to C151 to maximize the acceptor-donor electronic coupling (V el ). It is interestingly observed that as the amine solvents are diluted by suitable diluents (either keeping solvent dielectric constant similar or with increasing dielectric constant), the τ 1 remains almost in the similar range as long as the amine dilution does not cross a certain critical limit, which in terms of the amine mole fraction (x A ) is found to be ∼0.4 for aromatic amines and ∼0.8 for aliphatic amines. Beyond these dilutions in the two respective cases of the amine systems, the τ 1 values are seen to increase very sharply. The large difference in the critical x A values involving aromatic and aliphatic amine donors has been rationalized in terms of the largely different orientational restrictions for the ET reactions as imposed by the aliphatic (n-type) and aromatic (π-type) nature of the amine donors [A. K. Satpati et al., J. Mol. Struct. 878, 84 (2008)]. Since the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the n-type aliphatic amines is mostly centralized at the amino nitrogen, only some specific orientations of these amines with respect to the close-contact acceptor dye [also of π-character; A. K. Satpati et al., J. Mol. Struct. 878, 84 (2008) and E. W. Castner et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 104, 2869 (2000)] can give suitable V el and thus ultrafast ET reaction. In contrary, the

  16. Marginal kidney donor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganesh Gopalakrishnan

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for a medically eligible patient with end stage renal disease. The number of renal transplants has increased rapidly over the last two decades. However, the demand for organs has increased even more. This disparity between the availability of organs and waitlisted patients for transplants has forced many transplant centers across the world to use marginal kidneys and donors. We performed a Medline search to establish the current status of marginal kidney donors in the world. Transplant programs using marginal deceased renal grafts is well established. The focus is now on efforts to improve their results. Utilization of non-heart-beating donors is still in a plateau phase and comprises a minor percentage of deceased donations. The main concern is primary non-function of the renal graft apart from legal and ethical issues. Transplants with living donors outnumbered cadaveric transplants at many centers in the last decade. There has been an increased use of marginal living kidney donors with some acceptable medical risks. Our primary concern is the safety of the living donor. There is not enough scientific data available to quantify the risks involved for such donation. The definition of marginal living donor is still not clear and there are no uniform recommendations. The decision must be tailored to each donor who in turn should be actively involved at all levels of the decision-making process. In the current circumstances, our responsibility is very crucial in making decisions for either accepting or rejecting a marginal living donor.

  17. [Vascular anatomy of donor and recipient in living kidney transplantation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiqing; Zhang, Xiaodong

    2009-09-01

    To review the vascular anatomy of the donor and the recipient for the living kidney transplantation. The recent literature about the vessels of donor and recipient in clinical applications was extensively reviewed. The pertinent vascular anatomy of the donor and recipient was essential for the screening of the proper candidates, surgical planning and long-term outcome. Early branching and accessory renal artery of the donor were particularly important to deciding the side of nephrectomy, surgical technique and anastomosing pattern, and their injuries were the most frequent factor of the conversion from laparoscopic to open surgery. With increase of laparoscopic nephrectomy in donors, accurate venous anatomy was paid more and more attention to because venous bleeding could also lead to conversion to open nephrectomy. Multidetector CT (MDCT) could supplant the conventional excretory urography and renal catheter angiography and could accurately depict the donors' vessels, vascular variations. In addition, MDCT can excellently evaluate the status of donor kidney, collecting system and other pertinent anatomy details. Accurate master of related vascular anatomy can facilitate operation plan and success of operation and can contribute to the rapid development of living donor kidney transplantation. MDCT has become the choice of preoperative one-stop image assessment for living renal donors.

  18. Suitability assessment of health education brochures in Qassim province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahan, Saulat; Al-Saigul, Abdullah M; Alharbi, Ali M; Abdelgadir, Muzamil H

    2014-09-01

    Health education is the cornerstone of primary health care. Health education materials distributed to the community should, therefore, be suitable and effective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health education brochures, designed and disseminated by Ministry of Health institutions in the Qassim province. The study was a cross-sectional review of health education brochures. We used a structured evaluation form, comprising general information on the brochures and a modified Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) score sheet. The SAM consisting of 22 criteria in six groups, includes content, literacy demands, graphics, layout/typography, learning stimulation/motivation, and cultural appropriateness. SAM criteria categorize written material into "superior," "adequate" and "not suitable." Two qualified consultant family physicians evaluated the brochures. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 3.4 statistical package. We evaluated 110 brochures, the majority of which addressed chronic health conditions such as mental health, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Seventy-four (67.3%) brochures were evaluated as "adequate," 34 (30.9%) as "not suitable" and 2 (1.8%) as "superior." "Cultural appropriateness" was the highest scoring factor, with 92 (83.6%) brochures falling into either the "superior" or "adequate" category. With regard to "content," 88 (80.0%) brochures fell into either the "superior" or "adequate" category. This was the second highest scoring factor. Graphics was the factor that scored the least. Seventy-five (68.2%) brochures were rated in this factor as "not suitable." Although two-thirds of our brochures were considered "adequate," the majority needed improvement to their graphics and learning stimulation factors. We recommend that guidelines for designing health education brochures should be formulated to improve the quality of health education brochures.

  19. Brief Report: Suitability of the Social Skills Performance Assessment (SSPA) for the Assessment of Social Skills in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhoeven, E. W. M.; Smeekens, I.; Didden, R.

    2013-01-01

    The present study aims at examining whether the "Social Skills Performance Assessment" (SSPA; Patterson et al. in "Schizophr Res" 48(2-3):351-360, 2001) is a suitable performance-based measure to assess social skills in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). For this purpose, social skills of individuals with ASD and…

  20. Mixed allogeneic reconstitution (A+B----A) to induce donor-specific transplantation tolerance. Permanent acceptance of a simultaneous donor skin graft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ildstad, S.T.; Wren, S.M.; Oh, E.; Hronakes, M.L.

    1991-01-01

    Mixed allogeneic reconstitution, in which a mixture of T-cell-depleted bone marrow of syngeneic host and allogeneic donor type is transplanted into a lethally irradiated recipient (A+B----A), results in mixed lymphopoietic chimerism with engraftment of a mixture of both host and donor bone marrow elements. Recipients are specifically tolerant to donor both in vitro and in vivo. Donor-specific skin grafts survive indefinitely when they are placed after full bone marrow repopulation at 28 days, while third-party grafts are rapidly rejected. To determine whether a delay of a month or more for full bone marrow repopulation is required before a donor-specific graft can be placed, we have now examined whether tolerance induction can be achieved if a graft is placed at the time of bone marrow transplantation. Permanent acceptance of donor-specific B10.BR skin grafts occurred when mixed allogeneic chimerism (B10+B10.BR----B10) was induced and a simultaneous allogeneic donor graft placed. In vitro, mixed reconstituted recipients were specifically tolerant to the B10.BR donor lymphoid cells but fully reactive to MHC-disparate third-party (BALB/c; H-2dd) when assessed by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) assays. These data therefore indicate that a donor-specific graft placed at the time of mixed allogeneic reconstitution is permanently accepted without rejection. To determine whether an allogeneic skin graft alone without allogeneic bone marrow would be sufficient to induce tolerance, syngeneic reconstitution (B10----B10) was carried out, and a simultaneous B10.BR allogeneic skin graft placed. Although skin grafts were prolonged in all recipients, all grafts rejected when full lymphopoietic repopulation occurred at 28 days

  1. Donor Retention in Online Crowdfunding Communities: A Case Study of DonorsChoose.org.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Althoff, Tim; Leskovec, Jure

    2015-05-01

    Online crowdfunding platforms like DonorsChoose.org and Kick-starter allow specific projects to get funded by targeted contributions from a large number of people. Critical for the success of crowdfunding communities is recruitment and continued engagement of donors. With donor attrition rates above 70%, a significant challenge for online crowdfunding platforms as well as traditional offline non-profit organizations is the problem of donor retention. We present a large-scale study of millions of donors and donations on DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding platform for education projects. Studying an online crowdfunding platform allows for an unprecedented detailed view of how people direct their donations. We explore various factors impacting donor retention which allows us to identify different groups of donors and quantify their propensity to return for subsequent donations. We find that donors are more likely to return if they had a positive interaction with the receiver of the donation. We also show that this includes appropriate and timely recognition of their support as well as detailed communication of their impact. Finally, we discuss how our findings could inform steps to improve donor retention in crowdfunding communities and non-profit organizations.

  2. A novel GIS-based approach to assess beekeeping suitability of Mediterranean lands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoccali, Paolo; Malacrinò, Antonino; Campolo, Orlando; Laudani, Francesca; Algeri, Giuseppe M; Giunti, Giulia; Strano, Cinzia P; Benelli, Giovanni; Palmeri, Vincenzo

    2017-07-01

    Honeybees are critically important for the environment and to the economy. However, there are in substantial decline worldwide, leading to serious threat to the stability and yield of food crops. Beekeeping is of pivotal importance, combining the wide economical aspect of honey production and the important ecological services provided by honeybees. In this scenario, the prompt identification of beekeeping areas is strategic, since it maximised productivity and lowered the risks of colony losses. Fuzzy logic is an ideal approach for problem-solving tasks, as it is specifically designed to manage problems with a high degree of uncertainty. This research tested a novel GIS-based approach to assess beekeeping suitability of lands located in Calabria (Southern Italy), without relying to Analytic Hierarchy Process - Multiple Criteria Decision Making (AHP-MCDM), thus avoiding the constraints due to the technique and decision makers' influences. Furthermore, the data used here were completely retrieved from open access sources, highlighting that our approach is characterized by low costs and can be easily reproduced for a wide arrays of geographical contexts. Notably, the results obtained by our experiments were validated by the actual beekeeping reality. Besides beekeeping, the use of this system could not only be applied in beekeeping land suitability evaluations, but may be successfully extended to other types of land suitability evaluations.

  3. Scar evaluation of split thickness skin graft donor site

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jani Muha

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND. Split thickness skin graft harvesting causes a certain degree of scaring on the donor site. Donor site scar can cause aesthetic and functional sequelae on the patient's body. Our goal was to study the process of donor site selection, and then evaluate donor site scars and their impact on patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS. This retrospective study included 45 patients aged 5 to 61 years (in average 36, who have been treated with STSG in the 2004–2010 period. 57.8% of them were men. On a follow-up visit, we photographed healed skin defects and donor sites. We then determined and compared the surface areas of skin defect and the donor site using the Adobe® Illustrator® CS5 computer program. Donor site scars were assessed according to the Vancouver scar scale (VSS. We examined scar’s light touch sensitivity with monofilaments and skin colouring compared to adjacent healthy skin using colorimeter. Patients were also interviewed about their treatment course in a form of a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS. Our research has revealed that 20.0% of patients participated in the decision making process of choosing the donor site, while in 80.0% the donor site was chosen by the surgeon himself. 6.7% of patients were not satisfied with their donor site. Most of the patients (37/45 had donor sites on their thighs. In average, the donor site surface area was 94% bigger than the skin defect area. We found statistically significant differences in VSS values, light touch sensitivity and skin colouring between donor site scaring and adjacent healthy skin. CONCLUSIONS. Donor site scar can represent a lasting aesthetic and functional disability for patients. Our research has shown that most of the patients do not participate in the donor site selection process, but are satisfied with their donor site. In most cases, STGSs are harvested from the thigh, other anatomical regions, where scarring would be aesthetically less obtrusive, are underused

  4. Expectations and experiences of gamete donors and donor-conceived adults searching for genetic relatives using DNA linking through a voluntary register.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Akker, O B A; Crawshaw, M A; Blyth, E D; Frith, L J

    2015-01-01

    What are the experiences of donor-conceived adults and donors who are searching for a genetic link through the use of a DNA-based voluntary register service? Donor-conceived adults and donors held positive beliefs about their search and although some concerns in relation to finding a genetically linked relative were reported, these were not a barrier to searching. Research with donor-conceived people has consistently identified their interest in learning about-and in some cases making contact with-their donor and other genetic relatives. However, donor-conceived individuals or donors rarely have the opportunity to act on these desires. A questionnaire was administered for online completion using Bristol Online Surveys. The survey was live for 3 months and responses were collected anonymously. The survey was completed by 65 donor-conceived adults, 21 sperm donors and 5 oocyte donors who had registered with a DNA-based voluntary contact register in the UK. The questionnaire included socio-demographic questions, questions specifically developed for the purposes of this study and the standardized Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ). Motivations for searching for genetic relatives were varied, with the most common reasons being curiosity and passing on information. Overall, participants who were already linked and those awaiting a link were positive about being linked and valued access to a DNA-based register. Collective identity (reflecting self-defining feelings of continuity and uniqueness), as assessed by the AIQ, was significantly lower for donor-conceived adults when compared with the donor groups (P 0.05) for donor-conceived adults. Participants were members of a UK DNA-based registry which is unique. It was therefore not possible to determine how representative participants were of those who did not register for the service, those in other countries or of those who do not seek information exchange or contact. This is the first survey exploring the

  5. Customized rating assessment of climate suitability (CRACS): climate satisfaction evaluation based on subjective perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzu-Ping; Yang, Shing-Ru; Matzarakis, Andreas

    2015-12-01

    Climate not only influences the behavior of people in urban environments but also affects people's schedules and travel plans. Therefore, providing people with appropriate long-term climate evaluation information is crucial. Therefore, we developed an innovative climate assessment system based on field investigations conducted in three cities located in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan. The field investigations included the questionnaire surveys and climate data collection. We first analyzed the relationship between the participants and climate parameters comprising physiologically equivalent temperature, air temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, cloud cover, and precipitation. Second, we established the neutral value, comfort range, and dissatisfied range of each parameter. Third, after verifying that the subjects' perception toward the climate parameters vary based on individual preferences, we developed the customized rating assessment of climate suitability (CRACS) approach, which featured functions such as personalized and default climate suitability information to be used by users exhibiting varying demands. Finally, we performed calculations using the climate conditions of two cities during the past 10 years to demonstrate the performance of the CRACS approach. The results can be used as a reference when planning activities in the city or when organizing future travel plans. The flexibility of the assessment system enables it to be adjusted for varying regions and usage characteristics.

  6. Comparison of three noninvasive methods for hemoglobin screening of blood donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardin, Sergey; Störmer, Melanie; Radojska, Stela; Oustianskaia, Larissa; Hahn, Moritz; Gathof, Birgit S

    2015-02-01

    To prevent phlebotomy of anemic individuals and to ensure hemoglobin (Hb) content of the blood units, Hb screening of blood donors before donation is essential. Hb values are mostly evaluated by measurement of capillary blood obtained from fingerstick. Rapid noninvasive methods have recently become available and may be preferred by donors and staff. The aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time all different noninvasive methods for Hb screening. Blood donors were screened for Hb levels in three different trials using three different noninvasive methods (Haemospect [MBR Optical Systems GmbH & Co. KG], NBM 200 [LMB Technology GmbH], Pronto-7 [Masimo Europe Ltd]) in comparison to the established fingerstick method (CompoLab Hb [Fresenius Kabi GmbH]) and to levels obtained from venous samples on a cell counter (Sysmex [Sysmex Europe GmbH]) as reference. The usability of the noninvasive methods was assessed with an especially developed survey. Technical failures occurred by using the Pronto-7 due to nail polish, skin color, or ambient light. The NBM 200 also showed a high sensitivity to ambient light and noticeably lower Hb levels for women than obtained from the Sysmex. The statistical analysis showed the following bias and standard deviation of differences of all methods in comparison to the venous results: Haemospect, -0.22 ± 1.24; NBM, 200 -0.12 ± 1.14; Pronto-7, -0.50 ± 0.99; and CompoLab Hb, -0.53 ± 0.81. Noninvasive Hb tests represent an attractive alternative by eliminating pain and reducing risks of blood contamination. The main problem for generating reliable results seems to be preanalytical variability in sampling. Despite the sensitivity to environmental stress, all methods are suitable for Hb measurement. © 2014 AABB.

  7. Nyretransplantation med levende donor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamper, A L; Løkkegaard, H; Rasmussen, F

    2000-01-01

    In recent years transplantation from living donors has accounted for 25-30% of all kidney transplants in Denmark corresponding to 40-45 per year. Most of these living donors are parents or siblings, although internationally an increasing number are unrelated donors. Donor nephrectomy is associate...... in cadaver transplantation. The ethical and psychological aspects related to transplantation from a living donor are complex and need to be carefully evaluated when this treatment is offered to the patients....

  8. Synthesis of all eight L-glycopyranosyl donors using C-H activation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frihed, Tobias; Pedersen, Christian Marcus; Bols, Mikael

    2014-01-01

    by an intramolecular C-H activation of the methyl group in g-position; both steps were catalyzed by iridium. The following Fleming-Tamao oxidation and acetylation gave the suitably protected L-hexoses. This is the first general method for the preparation of all eight L-hexoses as their thioglycosyl donors ready...... for glycosylation and the first example of an iridium-catalyzed C(sp3)-H activation on sulfide-containing compounds....

  9. Inaccurate preoperative imaging assessment on biliary anatomy not increases biliary complications after living donor liver transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Xiao; Wei Xuyong; Ling Qi; Wang Kai; Bao Haiwei; Xie Haiyang; Zhou Lin; Zheng Shusen

    2012-01-01

    Backgrounds and aims: Accurate assessment of graft bile duct is important to plan surgical procedure. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) has become an important diagnostic procedure in evaluation of pancreaticobiliary ductal abnormalities and has been reported as highly accurate. We aim to estimate the efficacy of preoperative MRCP on depicting biliary anatomy in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), and to determine whether inaccurate preoperative imaging assessment would increase the biliary complications after LDLT. Methods: The data of 118 cases LDLT were recorded. Information from preoperative MRCP was assessed using intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) as the gold standard. The possible risk factors of recipient biliary complications were analyzed. Results: Of 118 donors, 84 had normal anatomy (type A) and 34 had anatomic variants (19 cases of type B, 9 cases of type C, 1 case of type E, 2 cases of type F and 3 cases of type I) confirmed by IOC. MRCP correctly predicted all 84 normal cases and 17 of 34 variant cases, and showed an accuracy of 85.6% (101/118). The incidence of biliary complications was comparable between cases with accurate and inaccurate classification of biliary tree from MRCP, and between cases with normal and variant anatomy of bile duct. While cases with graft duct opening ≤5 mm showed a significant higher incidence of total biliary complications (21.1% vs. 6.6%, P = 0.028) and biliary stricture (10.5% vs. 1.6%, P = 0.041) compared with cases with large duct opening >5 mm. Conclusion: MRCP could correctly predict normal but not variant biliary anatomy. Inaccurate assessment of biliary anatomy from MRCP not increases the rate of biliary complications, while small-sized graft duct may cause an increase in biliary complications particularly biliary stricture after LDLT.

  10. Suitability assessment of health education brochures in Qassim province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saulat Jahan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Health education is the cornerstone of primary health care. Health education materials distributed to the community should, therefore, be suitable and effective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health education brochures, designed and disseminated by Ministry of Health institutions in the Qassim province. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional review of health education brochures. We used a structured evaluation form, comprising general information on the brochures and a modified Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM score sheet. The SAM consisting of 22 criteria in six groups, includes content, literacy demands, graphics, layout/typography, learning stimulation/motivation, and cultural appropriateness. SAM criteria categorize written material into "superior," "adequate" and "not suitable." Two qualified consultant family physicians evaluated the brochures. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 3.4 statistical package. Results: We evaluated 110 brochures, the majority of which addressed chronic health conditions such as mental health, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Seventy-four (67.3% brochures were evaluated as "adequate," 34 (30.9% as "not suitable" and 2 (1.8% as "superior." "Cultural appropriateness" was the highest scoring factor, with 92 (83.6% brochures falling into either the "superior" or "adequate" category. With regard to "content," 88 (80.0% brochures fell into either the "superior" or "adequate" category. This was the second highest scoring factor. Graphics was the factor that scored the least. Seventy-five (68.2% brochures were rated in this factor as "not suitable." Conclusions: Although two-thirds of our brochures were considered "adequate," the majority needed improvement to their graphics and learning stimulation factors. We recommend that guidelines for designing health education brochures should be formulated to improve the quality of health education brochures.

  11. Liver remnant regeneration in donors after living donor liver transplantation. Long-term follow-up using CT and MR imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klink, T. [INSELSPITAL - Bern University Hospital (Switzerland). Diagnostic, Interventional, and Pediatric Radiology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany). Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Simon, P. [Merciful Brethren Hospital, Trier (Germany). Dept. of Radiology, Neuroradiology, Sonography and Nuclearmedicine; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany). Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Knopp, C.; Ittrich, H.; Adam, G.; Koops, A. [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany). Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Fischer, L. [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany). Dept. of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Transplant Surgery

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: To assess liver remnant volume regeneration and maintenance, and complications in the long-time follow-up of donors after living donor liver transplantation using CT and MRI. Materials and Methods: 47 donors with a mean age of 33.5 years who donated liver tissue for transplantation and who were available for follow-up imaging were included in this retrospective study. Contrast-enhanced CT and MR studies were acquired for routine follow-up. Two observers evaluated pre- and postoperative images regarding anatomy and pathological findings. Volumes were manually measured on contrast-enhanced images in the portal venous phase, and potential postoperative complications were documented. Pre- and postoperative liver volumes were compared for evaluating liver remnant regeneration. Results: 47 preoperative and 89 follow-up studies covered a period of 22.4 months (range: 1 - 84). After right liver lobe (RLL) donation, the mean liver remnant volume was 522.0 ml (± 144.0; 36.1%; n = 18), after left lateral section (LLS) donation 1,121.7 ml (± 212.8; 79.9%; n = 24), and after left liver lobe (LLL) donation 1,181.5 ml (± 279.5; 72.0%; n = 5). Twelve months after donation, the liver remnant volume were 87.3% (RLL; ± 11.8; n = 11), 95.0% (LS; ± 11.6; n = 18), and 80.1% (LLL; ± 2.0; n = 2 LLL) of the preoperative total liver volume. Rapid initial regeneration and maintenance at 80% of the preoperative liver volume were observed over the total follow-up period. Minor postoperative complications were found early in 4 patients. No severe or late complications or mortality occurred. Conclusion: Rapid regeneration of liver remnant volumes in all donors and volume maintenance over the long-term follow-up period of up to 84 months without severe or late complications are important observations for assessing the safety of LDLT donors. (orig.)

  12. Liver remnant regeneration in donors after living donor liver transplantation. Long-term follow-up using CT and MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klink, T.; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg; Simon, P.; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg; Knopp, C.; Ittrich, H.; Adam, G.; Koops, A.; Fischer, L.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To assess liver remnant volume regeneration and maintenance, and complications in the long-time follow-up of donors after living donor liver transplantation using CT and MRI. Materials and Methods: 47 donors with a mean age of 33.5 years who donated liver tissue for transplantation and who were available for follow-up imaging were included in this retrospective study. Contrast-enhanced CT and MR studies were acquired for routine follow-up. Two observers evaluated pre- and postoperative images regarding anatomy and pathological findings. Volumes were manually measured on contrast-enhanced images in the portal venous phase, and potential postoperative complications were documented. Pre- and postoperative liver volumes were compared for evaluating liver remnant regeneration. Results: 47 preoperative and 89 follow-up studies covered a period of 22.4 months (range: 1 - 84). After right liver lobe (RLL) donation, the mean liver remnant volume was 522.0 ml (± 144.0; 36.1%; n = 18), after left lateral section (LLS) donation 1,121.7 ml (± 212.8; 79.9%; n = 24), and after left liver lobe (LLL) donation 1,181.5 ml (± 279.5; 72.0%; n = 5). Twelve months after donation, the liver remnant volume were 87.3% (RLL; ± 11.8; n = 11), 95.0% (LS; ± 11.6; n = 18), and 80.1% (LLL; ± 2.0; n = 2 LLL) of the preoperative total liver volume. Rapid initial regeneration and maintenance at 80% of the preoperative liver volume were observed over the total follow-up period. Minor postoperative complications were found early in 4 patients. No severe or late complications or mortality occurred. Conclusion: Rapid regeneration of liver remnant volumes in all donors and volume maintenance over the long-term follow-up period of up to 84 months without severe or late complications are important observations for assessing the safety of LDLT donors. (orig.)

  13. Suitability Assessment of Printed Dietary Guidelines for Pregnant Women and Parents of Infants and Toddlers From 7 European Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garnweidner-Holme, Lisa Maria; Dolvik, Stina; Frisvold, Cathrine; Mosdøl, Annhild

    2016-02-01

    To evaluate selected European printed dietary guidelines for pregnant women and parents of infants and toddlers using the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) method. A descriptive study to determine the suitability of 14 printed dietary guidelines from 7 European countries based on deductive quantitative analyses. Materials varied greatly in format and content: 35.7% of materials were rated superior and 64.3% were rated adequate according to the overall SAM score for patient education material. None of the materials were scored not suitable. Among the categories, the highest average scores were for layout and typography and the lowest average scores were for cultural appropriateness and learning stimulation and motivation. Interrater reliability ranged from Cohen's kappa of 0.37 to 0.62 (mean, 0.41), indicating fair to moderate agreement among the 3 investigators. Overall, the suitability of the assessed printed dietary guidelines was adequate. Based on the SAM methodology, printed dietary guidelines may increase in suitability by emphasizing aspects related to health literacy and accommodating the needs of different food cultures within a population. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. CT examination of segmental liver transplants from living donors. Anatomy and pathological findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krupski, G.; Maas, R.; Rogiers, X.; Burdelski, M.; Broelsch, C.E.

    1994-01-01

    A lack of suitable pediatric donors and significantly better results than conventional transplantation have contributed to the steady increase in the number of segmental liver transplants from living donors throughout the world. This article describes the diagnostic impact of axial CT scans following transplantation in a retrospective evaluation of 18 CT examinations of 10 children with an average age of two years. Both spiral and conventional CT scans permit precise visualization of the postoperative anatomy of the upper abdomen that is more distinct than the images provided by ultrasonic scans. Thus, CT scans better facilitate detection of pathological findings. In 60% of the patients (67% of the examinations), the CT scan permitted a definite diagnosis; in the remaining cases, no morphological correlate to the clinical and laboratory findings was detected. In addition to traditional ultrasonic scanning, computed tomography represents a further noninvasive imaging technique for postoperative diagnostics following segmental liver transplants from living donors. (orig.) [de

  15. Influence of kinship on donors' mental burden in living donor liver transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erim, Yesim; Beckmann, Mingo; Kroencke, Sylvia; Sotiropoulos, Georgios C; Paul, Andreas; Senf, Wolfgang; Schulz, Karl-Heinz

    2012-08-01

    In the context of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), German transplantation law stipulates that donor candidates should primarily be relatives of the recipients or persons with distinct and close relationships. In this study, we investigated the influence of the relationship between the donor and the recipient on the donor's emotional strain before transplantation. Donors were categorized according to the following subgroups: (1) parents donating for their children, (2) children donating for their parents, (3) siblings, (4) spouses, (5) other relatives, and (6) nonrelatives. The sample consisted of 168 donor candidates. Anxiety (F = 2.8, P = 0.02), depression (F = 2.6, P = 0.03), and emotional quality of life (F = 3.1, P = 0.01) differed significantly according to the relationship between the donor and the recipient. In comparison with healthy controls, parents donating for their children were significantly less stressed before LDLT and demonstrated fewer anxiety (P depression symptoms (P < 0.05). Adult children donating for their parents demonstrated the highest mental burden and the lowest emotional quality of life. However, this was not due to the responsibility of these children for their own families because differences between donors with children and donors without children could not be ascertained. This group should be given special attention before LDLT and during follow-up visits, and psychological help should be provided when it is necessary. Copyright © 2012 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

  16. Iron deficiency in blood donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo Delfini Cançado

    Full Text Available CONTEXT: Blood donation results in a substantial loss of iron (200 to 250 mg at each bleeding procedure (425 to 475 ml and subsequent mobilization of iron from body stores. Recent reports have shown that body iron reserves generally are small and iron depletion is more frequent in blood donors than in non-donors. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of iron deficiency in blood donors and to establish the frequency of iron deficiency in blood donors according to sex, whether they were first-time or multi-time donors, and the frequency of donations per year. DESIGN: From September 20 to October 5, 1999, three hundred blood donors from Santa Casa Hemocenter of São Paulo were studied. DIAGNOSTIC TESTS: Using a combination of biochemical measurements of iron status: serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, transferrin saturation index, serum ferritin and the erythrocyte indices. RESULTS: The frequency of iron deficiency in blood donors was 11.0%, of whom 5.5% (13/237 were male and 31.7% (20/63 female donors. The frequency of iron deficiency was higher in multi-time blood donors than in first-time blood donors, for male blood donors (7.6% versus 0.0%, P < 0.05 and female ones (41.5% versus 18.5%, P < 0.05. The frequency of iron deficiency found was higher among the male blood donors with three or more donations per year (P < 0.05 and among the female blood donors with two or more donations per year (P < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that blood donation is a very important factor for iron deficiency in blood donors, particularly in multi-time donors and especially in female donors. The high frequency of blood donors with iron deficiency found in this study suggests a need for a more accurate laboratory trial, as hemoglobin or hematocrit measurement alone is not sufficient for detecting and excluding blood donors with iron deficiency without anemia.

  17. Achieving donor management goals before deceased donor procurement is associated with more organs transplanted per donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinoski, Darren J; Daly, Michael C; Patel, Madhukar S; Oley-Graybill, Chrystal; Foster, Clarence E; Salim, Ali

    2011-10-01

    There is a national shortage of organs available for transplantation. Implementation of preset donor management goals (DMGs) to improve outcomes is recommended, but uniform practices and data are lacking. We hypothesized that meeting DMGs before organ procurement would result in more organs transplanted per donor (OTPD). The eight organ procurement organization in United Network for Organ Sharing Region 5 selected 10 critical care end points as DMGs. Each organ procurement organization submitted retrospective data from 40 standard criteria donors. "DMGs met" was defined as achieving any eight DMGs before procurement. The primary outcome was ≥4 OTPD. Binary logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of ≥4 OTPD with a pdonors had 3.6±1.6 OTPD. Donors with DMGs met had more OTPD (4.4 vs. 3.3, p50% (OR=4.0), Pao2:FIO2>300 (OR=4.6), and serum sodium 135 to 160 mEq/L (OR=3.4). Meeting DMGs before procurement resulted in more OTPD. Donor factors and critical care end points are independent predictors of organ yield. Prospective studies are needed to determine the true impact of each DMG on the number and function of transplanted organs.

  18. Characterization and suitability of superclean coals for hydroliquefaction feedstocks: Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Nam

    1989-05-30

    Superclean coals have been studied for their suitability as liquefaction feedstocks. The effects of ash and sulfur contents and two catalysts on a hydrogen donor solvent liquefaction reaction have been studied. Experiments were run using a unique coal of small particle size (90% <22 microns). The coal was characterized in terms of its chemical and its physical properties. This information made it possible to determine the effects of the static tube flotation separation on the coal. Once characterized the coals were liquefied in the hydrogen donor tetralin under a hydrogen atmosphere of 500 psig. The first series of experiments was to determine the effects of the ash on the liquefaction reaction. The second group of experiments dealt with the effects of catalysts (ammonium molybdate and titanium carbide) on low ash coals at various conditions. A model for batch liquefaction in a hydrogen donor solvent is then developed. This model is based on the assumption that the reaction is due to two competing mechanisms; (1) a thermal decomposition of the coal and (2) a catalytic reaction. The thermal reaction produces unwanted products while the catalytic reaction produces the desired products. To accurately model the batch system, mass transfer is considered. 51 refs., 50 figs., 29 tabs.

  19. Tamm-Horsfall protein in urine after uninephrectomy/transplantation in kidney donors and their recipients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Torffvit, O; Kamper, A L; Strandgaard, S

    1997-01-01

    Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) is a large glycoprotein with unknown physiological function synthesized in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. Urinary THP has recently been suggested as being suitable for monitoring the functional state of transplanted kidneys. In the present study......, the urinary excretion of THP after uninephrectomy and transplantation among relatives was determined in order to study the influence of the acute reduction in renal mass on the excretion of this peptide. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), estimated by the plasma clearance of 51Cr-EDTA, and the excretion rate...... of THP were measured 2 days before nephrectomy and 5, 12, 26 and 54 days after nephrectomy/transplantation in 22 healthy living kidney donors and in 16 of their recipients. In the donors, THP excretion rate of the kidney to remain in the donor was 22.3 micrograms/min before and 33.7 micrograms/min at 5...

  20. A simplified donor risk index for predicting outcome after deceased donor kidney transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Christopher J E; Johnson, Rachel J; Birch, Rhiannon; Collett, Dave; Bradley, J Andrew

    2012-02-15

    We sought to determine the deceased donor factors associated with outcome after kidney transplantation and to develop a clinically applicable Kidney Donor Risk Index. Data from the UK Transplant Registry on 7620 adult recipients of adult deceased donor kidney transplants between 2000 and 2007 inclusive were analyzed. Donor factors potentially influencing transplant outcome were investigated using Cox regression, adjusting for significant recipient and transplant factors. A United Kingdom Kidney Donor Risk Index was derived from the model and validated. Donor age was the most significant factor predicting poor transplant outcome (hazard ratio for 18-39 and 60+ years relative to 40-59 years was 0.78 and 1.49, respectively, Pinformed consent.

  1. Applying self-determination theory to the blood donation context: The blood donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    France, Christopher R; France, Janis L; Carlson, Bruce W; Frye, Victoria; Duffy, Louisa; Kessler, Debra A; Rebosa, Mark; Shaz, Beth H

    2017-02-01

    The Blood Donor Competency, Autonomy, and Relatedness Enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) project was designed as a practical application of self-determination theory to encourage retention of first-time donors. Self-determination theory proposes that people are more likely to persist with behaviors that are internally-motivated, and that externally-motivated behavior can evolve and become internalized given the appropriate socio-environmental conditions. According to self-determination theory, motivation to engage in blood donation may become increasingly self-determined if the behavior satisfies fundamental human needs for competence (a sense of self-efficacy to achieve specific goals), autonomy (a sense of volitional control over one's behavior), and relatedness (a sense of connection to a larger group). The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of competence, autonomy, and/or relatedness interventions on donor retention. Using a full factorial design, first-time donors will be assigned to a control condition or one of seven intervention conditions. Donation competence, autonomy, and relatedness, along with additional constructs associated with return donation, will be assessed before and after the intervention using online surveys, and donation attempts will be tracked for one-year using blood center donor databases. We hypothesize that, compared to the control condition, the interventions will increase the likelihood of a subsequent donation attempt. We will also examine intervention-specific increases in competence, autonomy, and relatedness as potential mediators of enhanced donor retention. By promoting first-time donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness our goal is to enhance internal motivation for giving and in so doing increase the likelihood of future donation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. The Use of Electron Donors to Increase Stereospecificity in Ziegler-Natta Propylene Polymerization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farshid Nouri-Ahangarani

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Different chemical components in traditional Ziegler–Natta catalytic system include: (1 titanium and vanadium containing compounds, mostly TiCl4, as an active centre, (2 trialkylaluminium-based Lewis acid compounds, especially triethylaluminium, as precatalyst and alkylating agent, and (3 inorganic compounds, specifically MgCl2 and silica, as catalyst supports. Besides these compounds, shortly after the first discovery of Ziegler-Natta catalysts, electron donors have been considered as the key components for MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts, as they improve the stereospecificity and activity of these types of catalysts. Most electron donor compounds have oxygen atom and only a few contain nitrogen atom in their structure. Starting from benzoate for third-generation Ziegler–Natta catalysts, the discovery of new donors has always updated the performance of Ziegler–Natta catalysts. Since the first discovery of these compounds numerous efforts have been devoted in both industry and academic laboratories, not only to discover new electron donors but also to understand their roles in Ziegler–Natta olefin polymerization and suitable MgCl2-alcohol adducts formation. This article reviews the history of such research and development efforts. The first part of the article describes the historical developments of catalyst, with a special focus on donors of industrial importance, followed by an account given on recent trends in the latest donors developed. The next part of the article covers the historical progress toward mechanistic understanding of how donors improve the performance of Ziegler–Natta catalysts and how they undergo decomposition by interaction with Lewis acidic species such as the AlEt3 and TiCl.

  3. ELISA with double antigen sandwich for screening specific serum anti-TP antibody in blood donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yiqing; Shi Zhixu

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To select a sensitive and specific laboratory examination suitable for screening serum anti-TP antibody in blood donors. Methods: The serum anti-TP antibody in 11271 blood donors were detected using ELISA with double antigen sandwich and the outcomes were compared with those using RPR assay. The conflicting specimen were confirmed by repeating the test with TPHA assay. Results: The positive rates of serum anti-TP antibody by ELISA with double antigen sandwich and RPR was 0.36% (41/11271) and 0.26% (29/11271), respectively. The coincidence of the detecting outcomes by ELISA with double antigen sandwich and RPR with TPHA was 97.5% (40/41) and 63.41%(26/41) respectively. Conclusion: Compared with RPR assay, ELISA with double antigen sandwich has higher sensibility and specificity for screening serum anti-TP antibody in blood donors

  4. The impact of disclosure on donor gamete participants: donors, intended parents and offspring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenfeld, Dorothy A

    2008-06-01

    The present review examines recent publications that provide insight into how the trend toward nonanonymity and disclosure in gamete donation impacts donors, intended parents, and their donor-conceived children. Recent findings show an increase in donor programs that offer open-identity between donors and offspring. The psychological needs of gamete donors and their attitudes toward disclosure are increasingly given consideration. Qualitative research on how parents of donor gamete offspring make decisions about disclosure reveals that even when couples initially disagree about disclosing to offspring, most ultimately come to a united disclosure decision. The literature on the impact of disclosure on donor gamete offspring has extended to include children conceived through embryo donation and children born as a result of surrogacy. The absence of genetic or gestational link between parents and their child does not have a negative impact on parent-child relationships. Parents through surrogacy tend to disclose the method of family creation to their child, whereas parents through embryo donation tend to be secretive about their child's origins. The trend toward greater openness in gamete donation has been accompanied by an increase in programs offering open-identity donation. In addition, the psychological needs of gamete donors and their attitudes toward disclosure are increasingly being given consideration. Parents of donor gamete offspring give careful thought to their disclosure decisions, and the psychological well being of donor-conceived children does not seem to be impacted by those decisions.

  5. Rationale for geological isolation of high-level radioactive waste, and assessment of the suitability of crystalline rocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smedes, H.W.

    1980-01-01

    This report summarizes the disposal objective to be met and the requisite geotechnical criteria to meet that objective; evaluates our present ability to determine whether certain criteria can be met and to predict whether they will continue to be met; discusses the consequences of failure to meet certain criteria; assesses what is known about how crystalline rocks meet those criteria; lists important gaps in our knowledge that presently preclude final assessment of suitability; and suggests priority research to fill those gaps. The report presents an elaboration of the above-stated behavior and suitability of crystalline rocks, and a rationale of site-selection in support of the recommended prompt and intensive study of granite and other crystalline rocks as potentially highly suitable candidate media for radioactive waste disposal. An overview is presented on what the rocks are, where they are, and what the critical attributes are of various crystalline-rock terranes in the conterminous United States. This is intended to provide a basis to aid in selecting, first regions, and then sites within those regions, as candidate repository sites

  6. Differences in social representation of blood donation between donors and non-donors: an empirical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarnaccia, Cinzia; Giannone, Francesca; Falgares, Giorgio; Caligaris, Aldo Ozino; Sales-Wuillemin, Edith

    2015-11-04

    Both donors and non-donors have a positive image of blood donation, so donors and non-donors do not differ regarding their views on donation but do differ in converting their opinion into an active deed of donation. Several studies have identified altruism and empathy as the main factors underlying blood donation. However, a mixture of various motivational factors mould the complex behaviour of donation. This paper presents an exploratory study on differences of social representations of blood donation between blood donors and non-donors, in order to understand the reasons that bring someone to take the decision to become a blood donor. Participants filled in the Adapted Self-Report Altruism Scale, Toronto Empathy Questionnaire and answered a test of verbal association. Descriptive and correlation analyses were carried out on quantitative data, while a prototypic analysis was used for qualitative data. The study was carried out on a convenience sample of 786 individuals, 583 donors (mean age: 35.40 years, SD: 13.01 years; 39.3% female) and 203 non-donors (mean age: 35.10 years, SD: 13.30 years; 67.5% female). Social representations of donors seem to be more complex and articulated than those of non-donors. The terms that appear to be central were more specific in donors (life, needle, blood, help, altruism were the words most associated by non-donors; life, aid, altruism, solidarity, health, love, gift, generosity, voluntary, control, needed, useful, needle were the words most associated by donors). Furthermore, non-donors associated a larger number of terms referring to negative aspects of blood donation. Aspects related to training and the accuracy of any information on blood donation seem to be important in the decision to become a donor and stabilise the behaviour of donation over time, thus ensuring the highest levels of quality and safety in blood establishments.

  7. Seriously ill patients as living unspecified kidney donors: rationale and justification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakké, Yannick S; Zuidema, Willij C; Hilhorst, Medard T; Erdman, Ruud A M; Massey, Emma K; Betjes, Michiel G H; Dor, Frank J M F; IJzermans, Jan N M; Weimar, Willem

    2015-01-01

    Between 2000 and December 2013, 106 live donor nephrectomies from anonymous living-donors were performed at the Erasmus MC Rotterdam; five of the donors (5.4%) had a life-threatening disease. The aim of the present report is to give the rational and justification for this procedure. All five donors underwent the national standard living-donor screening procedure. Additionally, motivation to donate and psychologic stability were assessed by a psychologist using in-depth interview techniques and a psychologic complaints questionnaire. Post-donor nephrectomy follow-up consisted of standard questionnaires and clinical check-ups. One patient had cerebral and caudal ependymomas, one had severe and progressive emphysema, two had Huntington's disease and one had a grade 2 oligodendroglioma. The psychologic screening revealed genuine motivation, adequate risk perception, and normal sense of reality. No contraindications for donation were found. The five donor nephrectomies made nine kidney transplantations possible. All donors were satisfied with the donation procedure. Three donors died during follow-up (0.6-4.9 years) as a result of their disease. In the absence of apparent additional health risks, medical, and psychologic contraindications, we consider it ethically justified to accept an offer from a cognitively competent patient with a life-threatening disease in view of their self-reported satisfaction during follow-up. Although based on a limited number of patients, we conclude that a stricter psychologic screening for seriously ill donors compared to healthy unspecified anonymous donors to unspecified patients is not necessary.

  8. Donor-derived HLA antibody production in patients undergoing SCT from HLA antibody-positive donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniguchi, K; Yoshihara, S; Maruya, E; Ikegame, K; Kaida, K; Hayashi, K; Kato, R; Inoue, T; Fujioka, T; Tamaki, H; Okada, M; Onuma, T; Fujii, N; Kusunoki, Y; Soma, T; Saji, H; Ogawa, H

    2012-10-01

    Pre-existing donor-specific HLA antibodies in patients undergoing HLA-mismatched SCT have increasingly been recognized as a risk factor for primary graft failure. However, the clinical implications of the presence of HLA antibodies in donors remain unknown. We prospectively examined 123 related donors for the presence of HLA antibodies by using a Luminex-based single antigen assay. Of these, 1/57 (1.8%) male, 6/27 (22%) parous female and 0/39 (0%) nonparous female donors were HLA antibody-positive. Then, we determined the presence of HLA antibodies in seven patients who received SCT from antibody-positive donors. Of these, four became HLA antibody-positive after SCT. The specificities of the antibodies that emerged in the patients closely resembled those of the antibodies found in the donors, indicating their production by donor-derived plasma cells. Moreover, the kinetics of the HLA antibody levels were similar in all four patients: levels started increasing within 1 week after SCT and peaked at days 10-21, followed by a gradual decrease. These results suggest that donor-derived HLA antibody production frequently occurs in patients undergoing SCT from antibody-positive donors. Further studies are warranted for clarifying the clinical significance of donor-derived HLA antibodies, including the role of these antibodies in post transplant platelet transfusion refractoriness.

  9. Land suitability assessment in the catchment area of four Southwestern Atlantic coastal lagoons: multicriteria and optimization modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Gallego, Lorena; Achkar, Marcel; Conde, Daniel

    2012-07-01

    In the present study, a land suitability assessment was conducted in the basin of four Uruguayan coastal lagoons (Southwestern Atlantic) to analyze the productive development while minimizing eutrophication, biodiversity loss and conflicts among different land uses. Suitable land for agriculture, forest, livestock ranching, tourism and conservation sectors were initially established based on a multi-attribute model developed using a geographic information system. Experts were consulted to determine the requirements for each land use sector and the incompatibilities among land use types. The current and potential conflicts among incompatible land use sectors were analyzed by overlapping land suitability maps. We subsequently applied a multi-objective model where land (pixels) with similar suitability was clustered into "land suitability groups", using a two-phase cluster analysis and the Akaike Information Criterion. Finally, a linear programming optimization procedure was applied to allocate land use sectors into land suitable groups, maximizing total suitability and minimizing interference among sectors. Results indicated that current land use overlapped by 4.7 % with suitable land of other incompatible sectors. However, the suitable land of incompatible sectors overlapped in 20.3 % of the study area, indicating a high potential for the occurrence of future conflict. The highest competition was between agriculture and conservation, followed by forest and agriculture. We explored scenarios where livestock ranching and tourism intensified, and found that interference with conservation and agriculture notably increased. This methodology allowed us to analyze current and potential land use conflicts and to contribute to the strategic planning of the study area.

  10. [Kidney allotransplantation from the AB0-incompatible donors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goriaĭnov, V A; Kaabak, M M; Babenko, N N; Shishlo, L A; Morozova, M M; Ragimov, A A; Dazhkova, N G; Salimov, E L

    2013-01-01

    The experience of 28 kidney allotransplantations from the AB0-incompatible donors was analyzed. The comparative group consisted of 38 patients, who received the AB0-compatible organ. The results were assessed using the following parameters: renal function, morphology of the biopsy samples of the transplanted kidney and actuary survival of the recipients with functioning transplants in both groups. The comparative analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups, giving the right to consider the kidney allotransplantation from the AB0-incompatible donors safe and effective.

  11. The effect of whole-blood donor adverse events on blood donor return rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Bruce H; Newman, Daniel T; Ahmad, Raffat; Roth, Arthur J

    2006-08-01

    Some blood donation-related adverse events (AEs) can negatively impact the blood donor return rate (BDRR) and decrease donor retention. One-thousand randomly selected whole-blood donors were interviewed 3 weeks after a 525-mL index whole-blood donation for seven AEs. The number of return visits and duration of follow-up were recorded for each of the 1000 donors. A negative binomial regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of the four most common AEs to the BDRR, and interactions between these AEs were also evaluated. The four most common AEs were bruise alone (15.1%), sore arm "alone" (7.0%), fatigue "alone" (5.1%), and donor reaction "alone" (4.2%), where "alone" is defined to also include donors who had a bruise but no other AE. The estimated BDRR for donations without AEs was 1.32 visits per year. The estimated BDRRs for the four most common AEs were: bruise alone, 1.32 visits per year; sore arm alone, 1.30 visits per year (2% reduction in BDRR); fatigue alone, 1.06 visits per year (20% reduction in BDRR); and donor reaction alone, 0.87 visits per year (34% reduction in BDRR). The BDRR for donor reaction, fatigue, and sore arm together was 0.20 visits per year (85% reduction in BDRR). Donor reaction had the most negative impact on the BDRR. There appears to be a synergistic effect between donor reaction, fatigue, and sore arm. Theoretically, amelioration of some AEs has the potential to improve BDRRs.

  12. Risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus among blood donors in Cameroon: evidence for the design of an Africa-specific donor history questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagny, Claude T; Nguefack-Tsague, Georges; Fopa, Diderot; Ashu, Celestin; Tante, Estel; Ngo Balogog, Pauline; Donfack, Olivier; Mbanya, Dora; Laperche, Syria; Murphy, Edward

    2017-08-01

    In sub-Saharan Africa improving the deferral of at-risk blood donors would be a cost-effective approach to reducing transfusion-transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. We performed a pilot case-control study to identify the risk factors for HIV infection and to develop an adapted donor history questionnaire (DHQ) for sub-Saharan Africa. We recruited 137 HIV-positive donors (cases) and 256 HIV-negative donors (controls) and gathered risk factor data using audio computer-assisted self-interview. Variables with univariate associations were entered into a logistic regression model to assess independent associations. A scoring scheme to distinguish between HIV-positive and HIV-negative donors was developed using receiver operating characteristics curves. We identified 16 risk factors including sex with sex worker, past history or treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and having a partner who used injected or noninjected illegal drugs. Two novel risks were related to local behavior: polygamy (odds ratio [OR], 22.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.9-86.7) and medical or grooming treatment on the street (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.0-3.0). Using the 16 selected items the mean scores (>100) were 82.6 ± 6.7 (range, 53.2-95.1) and 85.1 ± 5.2 for HIV-negative donors versus 77.9 ± 6.8 for HIV-positive ones (p = 0.000). Donors who scored between 80 and 90 were more likely to be HIV negative than those who scored less (OR, 31.4; 95% CI, 3.1-313.9). We identified both typical and novel HIV risk factors among Cameroonian blood donors. An adapted DHQ and score that discriminate HIV-negative donors may be an inexpensive means of reducing transfusion-transmitted HIV through predonation screening. © 2017 AABB.

  13. ِAnalysis of donor motivations in living donor liver transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hesham eAbdeldayem

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The introduction of the living donor liver transplantation (LDLT in Egypt as in elsewhere, has raised important psychological conflicts and ethical questions. The objective of this study was to get better understanding of the potential donors’ motives towards LDLT.Methods:This study was conducted on consecutive 193 living –liver donors who underwent partial hepatectomy as donors for LDLT during the period between April 2003 and January 2013, at the National Liver Institute Menoufeyia University, Egypt. Potential donors were thoroughly evaluated preoperatively through a screening questionnaire and interviews as regard their demographic data, relationship to the potential recipient and motives towards proceeding to surgery. They were assured that the information shared between them and the transplant centre is confidential. Results.The donors’ mean age was 25.53± 6.39 years with a range of 18-45 years. Males represented 64.7 % and females were 35.3%. The most common donors (32.1%, n_62, were sons and daughters to their parents (sons: n_43, daughters: n_19 while parents to their offsprings represent 15% (mothers: n_21, fathers: n_8. Brothers and sisters represent 16.5 % (brothers: n_22, sisters: n_10. Nephews & nieces giving their uncles or aunts were 14%. The number of wives donating to their husbands was 11 (5.7%. Interestingly, there was no single husband who donated his wife. Among the remaining donors, there were 11 cousins & one uncle. Unrelated donors were 20 (10.4%. Several factors seemed to contribute to motivation for donation: the seriousness of the potential recipient condition, the relationship and personal history of the donor to the potential recipient, the religious beliefs, the trust in the health care system, and family dynamics and obligations.Conclusions. Absolute absence of coercion on the living-liver donor’s motives may not be realistic because of the serious condition of the potential recipient. It is

  14. PHOSPHATE METABOLISM IN KIDNEY DONORS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayakumar Edathedathe

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available AIM To study the changes in phosphate metabolism in kidney donors, to study the correlation of albuminuria, fractional excretion of phosphorus [FE Pi] and estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] with fibroblast growth factor 23 [FGF 23] in kidney donors, to study the early tubule interstitial injury in the remnant kidney of donors by measuring urine transforming growth factor beta [TGF beta] levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study in which kidney donors with 1 year or more after donation were included. 69 kidney donors with a mean duration of 5.86 years after kidney donation were studied. Serum phosphate level, fractional excretion of phosphorus [FE Pi] and serum levels of parathyroid hormone were measured. Plasma levels of FGF 23 were measured by a second generation enzyme linked immune sorbent assay [ELISA]. Renal function was assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] and degree of albuminuria. Urine levels of transforming growth factor beta [TGF beta] were measured by ELISA. A hypothesis that in kidney donors with reduced nephron number, the single nephron excretion of phosphorus will be increased to maintain normal phosphorus homeostasis and that this increase in single nephron phosphorus excretion may be mediated by FGF 23 was proposed. Testing of this hypothesis was done by studying the correlation between parameters of phosphorus metabolism, FGF 23 and the renal function of the donors. RESULTS The mean eGFR was 70.36 mL/min/1.73 m2 . 52.2% of donors had moderate increase in albuminuria [microalbuminuria], Serum phosphorus, fractional excretion of phosphorus and serum PTH levels were in the normal range. FGF 23 levels were in the normal reference range and showed no correlation with FE pi, eGFR or albuminuria, Urine TGF-beta levels were undetectable in all the donors. DISCUSSION Normal phosphorus homeostasis is maintained in kidney donors. There was no correlation between FE pi and FGF 23 levels. Kidney

  15. Risk Factors for Transfusion Transmissible Infections Elicited on Post Donation Counselling in Blood Donors: Need to Strengthen Pre-donation Counselling

    OpenAIRE

    Sachdev, Suchet; Mittal, Kshitija; Patidar, Gopal; Marwaha, Neelam; Sharma, Ratti Ram; Duseja, Ajay Kumar; Chawla, Yogesh Kumar; Arora, Sunil Kumar

    2014-01-01

    Donor notification and counselling transforms the legal and ethical requirement of disclosure of transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) in a blood donor into practice. The present study was done to assess the response to the disclosure of TTI reactivity results in blood donors, assess the risk factors in blood donors and follow the compliance of the disclosure and clinical referral in a population of blood donors who are difficult to convince that they may be harbouring infections apparent...

  16. Calcium alginate dressings promote healing of split skin graft donor sites.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Donoghue, J M

    2012-02-03

    A prospective controlled trial was carried out to assess the healing efficacy of calcium alginate and paraffin gauze on split skin graft donor sites. Thirty patients were randomised to the calcium alginate group and 21 to the paraffin gauze group. The donor sites were assessed at 10 days post harvesting to determine if they were completely healed (100%) or not. Twenty one of the 30 patients dressed with calcium alginate were completely healed at day 10, while only 7\\/21 in the paraffin gauze group were healed (p < 0.05). There were two infections in the study, both occurring in the alginate group while there was no difference in dressing slippage between the two groups. Calcium alginate dressings provide a significant improvement in healing split skin graft donor sites.

  17. Pre-donation cognitions of potential living organ donors: the development of the Donation Cognition Instrument in potential kidney donors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wirken, Lieke; van Middendorp, Henriët; Hooghof, Christina W.; Sanders, Jan-Stephan F.; Dam, Ruth E.; van der Pant, Karlijn A. M. I.; Berendsen, Elsbeth C. M.; Wellink, Hiske; Dackus, Henricus J. A.; Hoitsma, Andries J.; Hilbrands, Luuk B.; Evers, Andrea W. M.

    2017-01-01

    Background. Cognitions surrounding living organ donation, including the motivation to donate, expectations of donation and worries about donation, are relevant themes during living donor evaluation. However, there is no reliable psychometric instrument assessing all these different cognitions. This

  18. Blood donor deferral: time for change? An evidence-based analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borra V

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Vere Borra,1 Giovani Vandewalle,1 Hans Van Remoortel,1 Veerle Compernolle,1,2 Emmy De Buck,1 Philippe Vandekerckhove1–31Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, Mechelen, 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Ghent, Ghent, 3Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumAbstract: Donor selection remains an important part in the safety of the blood supply all over the world. Yet, donor deferral criteria seem to be strongly based on the precautionary principle protecting safety and quality, and on supply and expense considerations. This review therefore provides an overview of the available evidence on donor exclusion criteria, as well as on their cost-effectiveness, for the most frequent reasons of donor deferral in our region. PubMed was queried to retrieve primary research studies, systematic reviews, and health technology assessments (HTAs concerning donor exclusion criteria. With a similar approach, HTAs about the different blood-banking safety interventions were included. Reasons for donor deferral were recorded via the blood bank information system of the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. Seven systematic reviews were identified: four on donor safety (hypotension, hypertension/type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, and higher age and three on recipient safety (hemochromatosis, men who have sex with men, and endoscopy. Forty-three low-quality observational studies were included, as well as 16 HTAs: three about donor exclusion criteria and 13 cost-utility analyses about blood-banking safety interventions. In general, the available evidence for deferral reasons was of low quality, and for 60% of the top 30 reasons for excluding donors, no evidence was found. Blood banking shows its unique position as many safety measures far exceed the normally accepted cost of €50,000/quality-adjusted life-years. The historical model based on the precautionary principle and on supply and expense considerations provides adequate supplies of

  19. [Single-donor (apheresis) platelets and pooled whole-blood-derived platelets--significance and assessment of both blood products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitzler, Walter E

    2014-01-01

    The transfusion efficacy of ATK, which contain fully functional platelets, is beyond all doubt. The equivalence of ATK and PTK has been subject of many studies. Some of those studies show the superiority of ATK's, while others do not, but there have been no studies that demonstrated a superiority of PTK's. The superiority of platelets stored in plasma and in third generation additive solution was demonstrated in clinical studies; therefore, it cannot be said that all the platelet concentrates on the German market are equivalent in efficacy. Of decisive importance, above all, is the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections with known pathogens, or those not yet discovered. This risk is different for ATK compared to PTK. Taking this difference in risk and the difference in donor exposure of transfused patients into account, it can definitely be said that ATK and PTK are not equivalent. In 2012, the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI) published a mathematical risk model for different platelet concentrates and assessed the risk of transmitting known pathogens such as HIV, HCV, and HBV. The risk was higher for PTK compared to ATK. The relative risks for PTK derived from 4BCs were 2.2 (95%--CI: 2.1-2.4) for HIV, 2.7 (95%--CI: 2.5-3.0) for HCV, and 2.2 (95%--CI: 2.8-3.7) for HBV. At the present time, these are the relative risks of transfusion-transmitted infections with the traditional pathogens for PTK compared to ATK. In addition to the RKI assessed risks, there is the theoretical risk of a new, unknown agent, transmitted through blood exposure. The magnitude of this risk is hardly predictable for PTK. The experience gathered so far, especially in the last three decades, with the emergence of HIV, prions, and West Nil virus, shows that the biological nature of a next transfusion-transmissible infectious agent cannot be predictable. This agent, if we think at a conventional sexually transmissible agent with nucleic acid and long latent period, would spread first in areas with

  20. High-resolution assessment of land use impacts on biodiversity in life cycle assessment using species habitat suitability models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Baan, Laura; Curran, Michael; Rondinini, Carlo; Visconti, Piero; Hellweg, Stefanie; Koellner, Thomas

    2015-02-17

    Agricultural land use is a main driver of global biodiversity loss. The assessment of land use impacts in decision-support tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) requires spatially explicit models, but existing approaches are either not spatially differentiated or modeled at very coarse scales (e.g., biomes or ecoregions). In this paper, we develop a high-resolution (900 m) assessment method for land use impacts on biodiversity based on habitat suitability models (HSM) of mammal species. This method considers potential land use effects on individual species, and impacts are weighted by the species' conservation status and global rarity. We illustrate the method using a case study of crop production in East Africa, but the underlying HSMs developed by the Global Mammals Assessment are available globally. We calculate impacts of three major export crops and compare the results to two previously developed methods (focusing on local and regional impacts, respectively) to assess the relevance of the methodological innovations proposed in this paper. The results highlight hotspots of product-related biodiversity impacts that help characterize the links among agricultural production, consumption, and biodiversity loss.

  1. Renal volume assessed by magnetic resonance imaging volumetry correlates with renal function in living kidney donors pre- and postdonation: a retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Daniel; Helck, Andreas; Rominger, Axel; Crispin, Alexander; Meiser, Bruno; Werner, Jens; Fischereder, Michael; Stangl, Manfred; Habicht, Antje

    2018-07-01

    Renal function of potential living kidney donors is routinely assessed with scintigraphy. Kidney anatomy is evaluated by imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We evaluated if a MRI-based renal volumetry is a good predictor of kidney function pre- and postdonation. We retrospectively analyzed the renal volume (RV) in a MRI of 100 living kidney donors. RV was correlated with the tubular excretion rate (TER) of MAG3-scintigraphy, a measured creatinine clearance (CrCl), and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by Cockcroft-Gault (CG), CKD-EPI, and modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula pre- and postdonation during a follow-up of 3 years. RV correlated significantly with the TER (total: r = 0.6735, P volumetry might be an alternative technique for the evaluation of split renal function and prediction of renal function postdonation in living kidney donors. © 2018 Steunstichting ESOT.

  2. An Algorithm Measuring Donor Cell-Free DNA in Plasma of Cellular and Solid Organ Transplant Recipients That Does Not Require Donor or Recipient Genotyping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul MK Gordon

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cell-free DNA (cfDNA has significant potential in the diagnosis and monitoring of clinical conditions but accurately and easily distinguishing the relative proportion of DNA molecules in a mixture derived from two different sources (i.e. donor and recipient tissues after transplantation is challenging. In human cellular transplantation there is currently no useable method to detect in vivo engraftment and blood-based non-invasive tests for allograft rejection in solid organ transplantation are either non-specific (e.g. creatinine in kidney transplantation, liver enzymes in hepatic transplantation or absent (i.e. heart transplantation. Elevated levels of donor cfDNA have been shown to correlate with solid organ rejection but complex methodology limits implementation of this promising biomarker. We describe a cost-effective method to quantify donor cfDNA in recipient plasma using a panel of high-frequency single nucleotide polymorphisms, next-generation (semiconductor sequencing and a novel mixture model algorithm. In vitro, our method accurately and rapidly determined donor/recipient DNA admixture. For in vivo testing, donor cfDNA was serially quantified in an infant with a urea cycle disorder after receiving six daily infusions of donor liver cells. Donor cfDNA isolated from 1-2 ml of recipient plasma was detected as late as 24 weeks after infusion suggesting engraftment. The percentage of circulating donor cfDNA was also assessed in pediatric and adult heart transplant recipients undergoing routine endomyocardial biopsy with levels observed to be stable over time and generally measuring <1% in cases without moderate or severe cellular rejection. Unlike existing non-invasive methods used to define the proportion of donor cfDNA in solid organ transplant patients, our assay does not require sex mismatch, donor genotyping or whole-genome sequencing and potentially has broad application to detect cellular engraftment or allograft injury after

  3. The Human Tissue Act 2004 and the child donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baston, Jenny

    2009-05-01

    In 2001, the inquiry panel appointed to investigate the removal, retention and disposal of human organs and tissues at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital published its report. The panel's recommendations led to a new approach to consent for organ removal and storage under the new Human Tissue Act 2004. For child bone marrow donors, the new consent process requires all donor children or their parent to undergo a separate assessment before the bone marrow donation. They must be assessed by an accredited assessor who will submit a recommendation to the Human Tissue Authority for consideration. The unfortunate circumstances highlighted in the inquiry have led to changes to law, practice and culture that are benefiting other children and families.

  4. Inter- and Intrapersonal Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplant among Black Recipients and Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, LaShara A; Grogan, Tracy M; Cox, Joy; Weng, Francis L

    2017-08-01

    End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is more common among Blacks, but Blacks are less likely to receive a live donor kidney transplant (LDKT). The objective of this study is to identify barriers and coping mechanisms that Black LDKT recipients and donors experienced while receiving or donating a kidney. A qualitative study was conducted using structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used for data interpretation. All 20 participants identified as Black, with two participants identifying themselves as multiracial. The mean age for the 14 recipients was 60, and the average age for the 6 living donors was 47. Themes emerging from the data suggest both recipients and donors faced barriers in the LDKT experience. Recipients faced barriers associated with their denial and avoidance of the severity of their ESRD, their desire to maintain the privacy of their health status, and their refusal to approach potential donors. Donors encountered negative responses from others about the donors' desire to donate and the initial refusal of recipients to accept a LDKT offer. Recipients identified faith as a coping mechanism, while donors identified normalization of donation as their method of coping. Various types of social support helped donors and recipients navigate the transplant process. Black LDKT recipients and donors must overcome barriers prior to receiving or donating a kidney. Most of these barriers arise from communication and interactions with others that are either lacking or undesirable. Future interventions to promote LDKT among Blacks may benefit by specifically targeting these barriers.

  5. Alternative allogeneic donor sources for transplantation for childhood diseases: unrelated cord blood and haploidentical family donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cairo, Mitchell S; Rocha, Vanderson; Gluckman, Eliane; Hale, Gregory; Wagner, John

    2008-01-01

    Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been demonstrated to be curative in a wide variety of pediatric malignant and nonmalignant diseases, and can be traced back over 50 years ago to the original report of Thomas et al. HLA matched sibling donors have been the gold standard for pediatric recipients requiring allogeneic donors for both nonmalignant and malignant conditions. However, only 25% of potential pediatric recipients possesses an HLA-matched sibling donor, and the frequency is even less in those with genetic nonmalignant conditions because of genetically affected other siblings within the family. Therefore, 75% to 90% of potential pediatric recipients require alternative allogeneic donor cells for treatment of their underlying conditions. Potential alternative allogeneic donor sources include unrelated cord blood donors, unrelated adult donors, and haploidentical family donors. In this article we review the experience of both unrelated cord blood donor and haploidentical family donor transplants in selected pediatric malignant and nonmalignant conditions.

  6. Readability, suitability, and health content assessment of web-based patient education materials on colorectal cancer screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Chenlu; Champlin, Sara; Mackert, Michael; Lazard, Allison; Agrawal, Deepak

    2014-08-01

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in the Unites States are still below target level. Web-based patient education materials are used by patients and providers to provide supplemental information on CRC screening. Low literacy levels and patient perceptions are significant barriers to screening. There are little data on the quality of these online materials from a health literacy standpoint or whether they address patients' perceptions. To evaluate the readability, suitability, and health content of web-based patient education materials on colon cancer screening. Descriptive study. Web-based patient materials. Twelve reputable and popular online patient education materials were evaluated. Readability was measured by using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level, and suitability was determined by the Suitability Assessment of Materials, a scale that considers characteristics such as content, graphics, layout/typography, and learning stimulation. Health content was evaluated within the framework of the Health Belief Model, a behavioral model that relates patients' perceptions of susceptibility to disease, severity, and benefits and barriers to their medical decisions. Each material was scored independently by 3 reviewers. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level score, Suitability Assessment of Materials score, health content score. Readability for 10 of 12 materials surpassed the maximum recommended sixth-grade reading level. Five were 10th grade level and above. Only 1 of 12 materials received a superior suitability score; 3 materials received inadequate scores. Health content analysis revealed that only 50% of the resources discussed CRC risk in the general population and <25% specifically addressed patients at high risk, such as African Americans, smokers, patients with diabetes, and obese patients. For perceived barriers to screening, only 8.3% of resources discussed embarrassment, 25% discussed pain with colonoscopy, 25% addressed cost of colonoscopy, and none

  7. Donor-Derived Myeloid Sarcoma in Two Kidney Transplant Recipients from a Single Donor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amudha Palanisamy

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the rare occurrence of donor-derived myeloid sarcoma in two kidney transplant patients who received organs from a single deceased donor. There was no evidence of preexisting hematologic malignancy in the donor at the time of organ recovery. Both recipients developed leukemic involvement that appeared to be limited to the transplanted organ. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH and molecular genotyping analyses confirmed that the malignant cells were of donor origin in each patient. Allograft nephrectomy and immediate withdrawal of immunosuppression were performed in both cases; systemic chemotherapy was subsequently administered to one patient. Both recipients were in remission at least one year following the diagnosis of donor-derived myeloid sarcoma. These cases suggest that restoration of the immune system after withdrawal of immunosuppressive therapy and allograft nephrectomy may be sufficient to control HLA-mismatched donor-derived myeloid sarcoma without systemic involvement.

  8. Energy status of pig donor organs after ischemia is independent of donor type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadlbauer, Vanessa; Stiegler, Philipp; Taeubl, Philipp; Sereinigg, Michael; Puntschart, Andreas; Bradatsch, Andrea; Curcic, Pero; Seifert-Held, Thomas; Zmugg, Gerda; Stojakovic, Tatjana; Leopold, Barbara; Blattl, Daniela; Horki, Vera; Mayrhauser, Ursula; Wiederstein-Grasser, Iris; Leber, Bettina; Jürgens, Günther; Tscheliessnigg, Karlheinz; Hallström, Seth

    2013-04-01

    Literature is controversial whether organs from living donors have a better graft function than brain dead (BD) and non-heart-beating donor organs. Success of transplantation has been correlated with high-energy phosphate (HEP) contents of the graft. HEP contents in heart, liver, kidney, and pancreas from living, BD, and donation after cardiac death in a pig model (n=6 per donor type) were evaluated systematically. BD was induced under general anesthesia by inflating a balloon in the epidural space. Ten hours after confirmation, organs were retrieved. Cardiac arrest was induced by 9V direct current. After 10min of ventricular fibrillation without cardiac output, mechanical and medical reanimation was performed for 30min before organ retrieval. In living donors, organs were explanted immediately. Freeze-clamped biopsies were taken before perfusion with Celsior solution (heart) or University of Wisconsin solution (abdominal organs) in BD and living donors or with Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutaric solution (all organs) in non-heart-beating donors, after perfusion, and after cold ischemia (4h for heart, 6h for liver and pancreas, and 12h for kidney). HEPs (adenosine triphosphate, adenosine diphosphate, adenosine monophosphate, and phosphocreatine), xanthine, and hypoxanthine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Energy charge and adenosine triphosphate-to-adenosine diphosphate ratio were calculated. After ischemia, organs from different donor types showed no difference in energy status. In all organs, a decrease of HEP and an increase in hypoxanthine contents were observed during perfusion and ischemia, irrespective of the donor type. Organs from BD or non-heart-beating donors do not differ from living donor organs in their energy status after average tolerable ischemia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Dechlorinating ability of TCE-fed microcosms with different electron donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panagiotakis, Iraklis; Mamais, Daniel; Pantazidou, Marina; Marneri, Matina; Parapouli, Maria; Hatziloukas, Efstathios; Tandoi, Valter

    2007-01-01

    The main objective of the work presented herein is to assess the effect of different electron donors (butyric acid and methanol) on the dechlorinating activity of two microbial cultures where active methanogenic populations are present, in an effort to evaluate the importance of the electron donor selection process. The ability of each anaerobic culture to dechlorinate TCE, when enriched with either butyric acid or methanol, was verified based on the results of gas chromatography. In addition, the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods gave positive results for the presence of Dehalococcoides spp. According to results of the batch tests conducted in this study, it appears that the selection of the electron donor for stimulating TCE dechlorination depends on microbial culture composition; therefore, the decision on the appropriate electron donor should be based on site-specific microcosm studies

  10. Alternative Donor Graft Sources for Adults with Hematologic Malignancies: A Donor for All Patients in 2017!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindwall-Keller, Tamila L; Ballen, Karen K

    2017-09-01

    Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is potentially curative for a wide variety of malignant diseases, including acute and leukemias, lymphoma, and myelodysplasia. Choice of a stem cell donor is dependent on donor availability, donor compatibility and health, recipient disease type, and recipient condition. Current sources of stem cell donation for HSCT are matched sibling donors (MSDs), matched unrelated donors (MUDs), 1-antigen mismatched unrelated donors (MMUDs), haploidentical donors (haplo), and umbilical cord blood (UCB) units. Historically, preferred donors for HSCT have been human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling donors; however, only about 30% of U.S. patients will have a MSD available. The majority of patients referred for HSCT will require an alternative donor graft: MUD, MMUD, UCB, or haplo. The likelihood of finding a MUD varies depending on the ethnicity of the recipient. White Caucasians of European descent have the greatest chance of finding a MUD. Chances of finding a MUD are significantly less for African-American or Hispanic recipients due to HLA polymorphisms. Therefore, MMUD, UCB, and haplo donor graft sources expand the donor pool for recipients who do not have a MSD or MUD available. Given the variety of different donor stem cell sources available today, nearly every patient who needs an allogeneic HSCT has a potential donor in 2017. All transplant-eligible patients with hematologic malignancies should be evaluated by a transplant center to determine if HSCT is a viable treatment option for their underlying disease process. The goal of this review is to increase the awareness of oncology practitioners to the availability of alternative donor stem cell transplants for patients with hematologic malignancies. Despite new agents, stem cell transplant remains the only curative therapy for many patients with acute and chronic leukemia, myelodysplasia, and lymphoma. Given the variety of different donor stem cell sources available today

  11. Living unrelated donor kidney transplantation: A fourteen-year experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignjatović Ljiljana

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. In countries without a national organization for retrieval and distribution of organs of the deceased donors, problem of organ shortage is still not resolved. In order to increase the number of kidney transplantations we started with the program of living unrelated - spousal donors. The aim of this study was to compare treatment outcome and renal graft function in patients receiving the graft from spousal and those receiving ghe graft from living related donors. Method. We retrospectively identified 14 patients who received renal allograft from spousal donors between 1996 and 2009 (group I. The control group consisted of 14 patients who got graft from related donor retrieved from the database and matched than with respect to sex, age, kidney disease, immunological and viral pretransplant status, the initial method of the end stage renal disease treatment and ABO compatibility. In the follow-up period of 41 ± 38 months we recorded immunosuppressive therapy, surgical complications, episodes of acute rejection, CMV infection and graft function, assessed by serum creatinine levels at the beginning and in the end of the follow-up period. All patients had pretransplant negative cross-match. In ABO incompatible patients pretransplant isoagglutinine titer was zero. Results. The patients with a spousal donor had worse HLA matching. There were no significant differences between the groups in surgical, infective, immunological complications and graft function. Two patients from the group I returned to hemodialysis after 82 and 22 months due to serious comorbidities. Conclusion. In spite of the worse HLA matching, graft survival and function of renal grafts from spousal donors were as good as those retrieved from related donors.

  12. Cost-effectiveness of cadaveric and living-donor liver transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagmeister, Markus; Mullhaupt, Beat; Kadry, Zakiyah; Kullak-Ublick, Gerd A; Clavien, Pierre A; Renner, Eberhard L

    2002-02-27

    Cadaveric liver transplantation (5-year survival >80%) represents the standard of care for end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Because the demand for cadaveric organs exceeds their availability, living-donor liver transplantation has gained increasing acceptance. Our aim was to assess the marginal cost-effectiveness of cadaveric and living-donor orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in adults with ESLD. Using a Markov model, outcomes and costs of ESLD treated (1) conservatively, (2) with cadaveric OLT alone, and (3) with cadaveric OLT or living-donor OLT were computed. The model was validated with published data. The case-based scenario consisted of data on all 15 ESLD patients currently on our waiting list (3 women, 12 men; median age, 48 years [range, 33-59 years]) and on the outcome of all OLT performed for ESLD at our institution since 1995 (n=51; actuarial 5-year survival 93%). Living-donor OLT was allowed in 15% during the first year of listing; fulminant hepatic failure and hepatocellular carcinoma were excluded. Cadaveric OLT gained on average 6.2 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) per patient compared with conservative treatment, living-donor OLT, an additional 1.3 QALYs compared with cadaveric OLT alone. Marginal cost-effectiveness of a program with cadaveric OLT alone and a program with cadaveric and living-donor OLT combined were similar (E 22,451 and E 23,530 per QALY gained). Results were sensitive to recipient age and postoperative survival rate. Offering living-donor OLT in addition to cadaveric OLT improves survival at costs comparable to accepted therapies in medicine. Cadaveric OLT and living-donor OLT are cost-effective.

  13. The effect of variation in donor platelet function on transfusion outcome: a semirandomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Anne M; Garner, Stephen F; Foukaneli, Theodora; Godec, Thomas R; Herbert, Nina; Kahan, Brennan C; Deary, Alison; Bakrania, Lekha; Llewelyn, Charlotte; Ouwehand, Willem H; Williamson, Lorna M; Cardigan, Rebecca A

    2017-07-13

    The effect of variation in platelet function in platelet donors on patient outcome following platelet transfusion is unknown. This trial assessed the hypothesis that platelets collected from donors with highly responsive platelets to agonists in vitro assessed by flow cytometry (high-responder donors) are cleared more quickly from the circulation than those from low-responder donors, resulting in lower platelet count increments following transfusion. This parallel group, semirandomized double-blinded trial was conducted in a single center in the United Kingdom. Eligible patients were those 16 or older with thrombocytopenia secondary to bone marrow failure, requiring prophylactic platelet transfusion. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a platelet donation from a high- or low-responder donor when both were available, or when only 1 type of platelet was available, patients received that. Participants, investigators, and those assessing outcomes were masked to group assignment. The primary end point was the platelet count increment 10 to 90 minutes following transfusion. Analysis was by intention to treat. Fifty-one patients were assigned to receive platelets from low-responder donors, and 49 from high-responder donors (47 of which were randomized and 53 nonrandomized). There was no significant difference in platelet count increment 10 to 90 minutes following transfusion in patients receiving platelets from high-responder (mean, 21.0 × 10 9 /L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.9-37.2) or low-responder (mean, 23.3 × 10 9 /L; 95% CI, 7.8-38.9) donors (mean difference, 2.3; 95% CI, -1.1 to 5.7; P = .18). These results support the current policy of not selecting platelet donors on the basis of platelet function for prophylactic platelet transfusion. © 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.

  14. Aporrectodea caliginosa, a suitable earthworm species for field based genotoxicity assessment?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klobucar, Goeran I.V.; Stambuk, Anamaria; Srut, Maja; Husnjak, Ivana; Merkas, Martina; Traven, Luka; Cvetkovic, Zelimira

    2011-01-01

    There is a growing interest for the application of biomakers to field-collected earthworms. Therefore we have evaluated the usability of native populations of endogeic, widely distributed earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa in the assessment of soil genotoxicity using the Comet assay. Validation of the Comet assay on earthworm coelomocytes has been established using commercially available Eisenia fetida exposed to copper, cadmium, and pentachlorophenol, along with A. caliginosa exposed to copper in a filter paper contact test. Neutral red retention time (NRRT) assay was conducted on copper exposed and field-collected earthworms. Significant DNA and lysosomal damage was measured using Comet and NRRT assays in native populations of A. caliginosa sampled from the polluted soils in the urban area in comparison to the earthworms from the reference site. The results of this study confirm the employment of A. caliginosa as a suitable species for the in situ soil toxicity and genotoxicity field surveys. - Research highlights: → Native A. caliginosa has shown significant biological effect measured by the Comet and NRRT assays. → The Comet assay on A. caliginosa and E. fetida has shown to be of similar sensitivity as the NRRT assay. → A. caliginosa is a suitable species for the in situ soil toxicity and genotoxicity field surveys. - Native populations of endogeic earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa can be successfully applied in the genotoxicity field surveys using Comet assay.

  15. Aporrectodea caliginosa, a suitable earthworm species for field based genotoxicity assessment?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klobucar, Goeran I.V., E-mail: gklobuca@zg.biol.pmf.hr [Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Stambuk, Anamaria; Srut, Maja [Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Husnjak, Ivana [Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction, Ulica Republike Austrije 14, Zagreb (Croatia); Merkas, Martina [Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 12, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Traven, Luka [Department of Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta 20a, 51000 Rijeka (Croatia); Teaching Institute of Public Health of the Primorsko-goranska County, Kresimirova 52a, 51000 Rijeka (Croatia); Cvetkovic, Zelimira [Department of Ecology, Institute of Public Health, Mirogojska c. 16, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia)

    2011-04-15

    There is a growing interest for the application of biomakers to field-collected earthworms. Therefore we have evaluated the usability of native populations of endogeic, widely distributed earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa in the assessment of soil genotoxicity using the Comet assay. Validation of the Comet assay on earthworm coelomocytes has been established using commercially available Eisenia fetida exposed to copper, cadmium, and pentachlorophenol, along with A. caliginosa exposed to copper in a filter paper contact test. Neutral red retention time (NRRT) assay was conducted on copper exposed and field-collected earthworms. Significant DNA and lysosomal damage was measured using Comet and NRRT assays in native populations of A. caliginosa sampled from the polluted soils in the urban area in comparison to the earthworms from the reference site. The results of this study confirm the employment of A. caliginosa as a suitable species for the in situ soil toxicity and genotoxicity field surveys. - Research highlights: > Native A. caliginosa has shown significant biological effect measured by the Comet and NRRT assays. > The Comet assay on A. caliginosa and E. fetida has shown to be of similar sensitivity as the NRRT assay. > A. caliginosa is a suitable species for the in situ soil toxicity and genotoxicity field surveys. - Native populations of endogeic earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa can be successfully applied in the genotoxicity field surveys using Comet assay.

  16. Responses to recipient and donor B cells by genetically donor T cells from human haploidentical chimeras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schiff, S.; Sampson, H.; Buckley, R.

    1986-01-01

    Following administration of haploidentical stem cells to infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), mature T cells of donor karyotype appear later in the recipient without causing graft-versus-host disease. To investigate the effect of the host environment on the responsiveness of these genetically donor T cells, blood B and T lymphocytes from 6 SCID recipients, their parental donors and unrelated controls were purified by double SRBC rosetting. T cells were stimulated by irradiated B cells at a 1:1 ratio in 6 day cultures. Engrafted T cells of donor karyotype gave much smaller responses to irradiated genetically recipient B cells than did fresh donor T cells. Moreover, engrafted T cells of donor karyotype from two of the three SCIDs who are longest post-transplantation responded more vigorously (14,685 and 31,623 cpm) than fresh donor T cells (5141 and 22,709 cpm) to donor B cells. These data indicate that T lymphocytes which have matured from donor stem cells in the recipient microenvironment behave differently from those that have matured in the donor

  17. Pre-banking microbial contamination of donor conjunctiva and storage medium for penetrating keratoplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inomata, Takenori; Ono, Koichi; Matsuba, Tsuyoshi; Shiang, Tina; Di Zazzo, Antonio; Nakatani, Satoru; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ebihara, Nobuyuki; Murakami, Akira

    2017-09-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence of positive donor tissue cultures before transfer to preservation medium (Optisol™-GS) for penetrating keratoplasty, to verify the efficacy of antibiotics contained in Optisol™-GS by examining the drug susceptibility and to assess the relationship between the results of our microbial assessments as well as donor factors and the incidence of contamination. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study using Juntendo Eye Bank records for all corneal transplantations. Two hundred donor conjunctiva harvestings and storage medium (EP-II ® ) cultures were performed between July 2008 and June 2011. We analyzed the associations between donor factors (age, gender, history of cataract surgery, death-to-preservation interval, cause of death) and contamination rates using multivariate analysis by the generalized estimating equation model. We obtained positive bacterial cultures from 154 of the 200 eyes (77.0%). The isolated bacteria were indigenous, such as coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Corynebacterium sp., and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There was significant resistance to levofloxacin (18 eyes, 9.0%) and gentamicin (12 eyes, 6.0%), and no vancomycin-resistant bacteria were detected. The donor factors did not correlate with the prevalence of bacterial contamination in our criteria. Pre-banking microbial assessment allows for microbial detection, bacterial susceptibility and resistance testing. This is useful for developing preservation mediums containing effective spectrum antibiotic agents for high quality control of corneal banking.

  18. Promoting Organ Donor Registries Through Public Education: What Is the Cost of Securing Organ Donors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razdan, Manik; Smith, Kenneth J; Bryce, Cindy L; Degenholtz, Howard B

    2016-06-01

    Transplant medicine's impact on America's public health is seriously limited by acute shortage of transplantable organs. Consequently, the United Sates has witnessed considerable investment in the promotion of organ donor registries. Although there is no evidence to support that donor registry promotion alleviates organ shortage, this belief continues to drive investments into registry promotion. In this study, return on investment in donor registry promotion was examined using cost-outcomes analysis. Cost of promoting the donor registry was estimated in US dollars whereas the outcome was measured as the number of individuals who join the registry (registrants) and their value in terms of organ donors. The study was conducted from the perspective of a regional Organ Procurement Organization (OPO). Costs were directly obtained from the OPO. The number of new registrants was obtained from the OPO and the departments of motor vehicles that maintain the donor registry. The value of registrants in terms of organ donors was computed based on a registrant's age-dependent risk of dying and age-dependent probability of becoming an organ donor. Six thousand seven hundred eight individuals joined the organ donor registry (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 5429-7956) at a cost of $455 per registrant (95% CI, US $383-US $562). These individuals result in 4.2 present-day donors (95% CI, 2.5-6.6) at a cost of US $726 000 (95% CI, US $462000-US $1.2 million). Because the cost per registrant and cost per donor is less than society's willingness to pay, donor registry promotion offers positive return on investment. Investment in registry promotion should at the minimum be maintained at current levels.

  19. Transmission of infectious agents from the donor to the recipient. Do we need change in the risk assessment?

    OpenAIRE

    S. V. Zhuravel; N. K. Kuznetsova; T. V. Chernenkaya; I. I. Utkina

    2015-01-01

    The article discusses the possible risks of infection by bacterial, fungal and viral infections the recipient of donor organs. Identified infectious diseases in which the reserve of donor organs is contraindicated for the recipient and the diseases for which it is possible to use donor organs.

  20. Donor selection criteria and procurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agcaoili, N.R.

    1999-01-01

    Donor selection is one of the most important aspects of tissue banking practice. Without a good donor selection criteria, the results of any effort of trying to preserve tissues will have disastrous outcome for the recipient of these tissues. While with a very good and strict donor selection the Tissue Bank can guarantee safe and effective tissue allografts. There are significant aspects in the history and physical examination of the donor that must be emphasized. A donor exclusion criteria has also been formulated together with a list of all the needed laboratory examinations to eliminate possible diseases that may be transferred from the donor. The methods of procurement of tissue allografts from living and cadaver donors will be described. The limitations and advantages of each will be taken.There are also special restrictions that are important in the practice of removing the tissues from the donors. All the necessary equipment should be ready and the potential risk on the personnel should be known to all doing Tissue Banking

  1. Assessing the suitability of written stroke materials: an evaluation of the interrater reliability of the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) checklist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Tammy; Ladner, Yvette

    2012-01-01

    Written materials are frequently used to provide education to stroke patients and their carers. However, poor quality materials are a barrier to effective information provision. A quick and reliable method of evaluating material quality is needed. This study evaluated the interrater reliability of the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) checklist in a sample of written stroke education materials. Two independent raters evaluated the materials (n = 25) using the SAM, and ratings were analyzed to reveal total percentage agreements and weighted kappa values for individual items and overall SAM rating. The majority of the individual SAM items had high interrater reliability, with 17 of the 22 items achieving substantial, almost perfect, or perfect weighted kappa value scores. The overall SAM rating achieved a weighted kappa value of 0.60, with a percentage total agreement of 96%. Health care professionals should evaluate the content and design characteristics of written education materials before using them with patients. A tool such as the SAM checklist can be used; however, raters should exercise caution when interpreting results from items with more subjective scoring criteria. Refinements to the scoring criteria for these items are recommended. The value of the SAM is that it can be used to identify specific elements that should be modified before education materials are provided to patients.

  2. [Survey of blood donors on the topic of "reimbursement for blood donors"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiler, T; Kretschmer, V

    1995-02-01

    Remuneration for blood donors, in the way as presently handled by governmental and communal blood transfusion services in Germany, is not generally accepted. It is feared that donors are recruited with increased risk to transmit infectious diseases, especially AIDS. Alternative incentives are discussed. After the so-called AIDS scandal in Germany, a change in the donor motivation was to be expected, associated with an increased willingness to renounce remuneration. Therefore, we performed the present survey, in which we evaluated the donor's willingness to renounce remuneration, possibilities of cashless remuneration and other alternative incentives. During March and April 1994, a total of 1,157 blood donors of the University Blood Bank Marburg were questioned anonymously by a questionnaire in the framework of whole-blood donations. Beside the above-mentioned aspects demoscopic data were included (age, sex, profession, journey). Cutting of remuneration without any other compensation was refused by 86.1% of the donors, 77% would not want to further donate blood in this case. Transfer of money to a bank account instead of cash payment was accepted by 78.6%, the use of non-negotiable cheques by 68.7%. Alternative compensation by tickets for theater, concert, cinema or coupons for restaurants met with the approval of only 27.3%; under these circumstances, 36.9% would be willing to continue blood donation. With increasing age and number of donations, but largely independent of social status, donors attached greater importance to retention of remuneration. Cutting of remuneration would result in a considerable reduction of the willingness to donate blood within the population of donors of the governmental and communal blood transfusion services. However, an increase of virus safety of the blood products would not be reached in this way, since especially the long-term donors would be driven away. Considerable bottlenecks, particularly in the specific blood supply of

  3. The impact of meeting donor management goals on the number of organs transplanted per donor: results from the United Network for Organ Sharing Region 5 prospective donor management goals study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinoski, Darren J; Patel, Madhukar S; Daly, Michael C; Oley-Graybill, Chrystal; Salim, Ali

    2012-10-01

    Many organ procurement organizations have implemented critical care end points as donor management goals in efforts to increase organs transplanted per donor after neurologic determination of death. Although retrospective studies have demonstrated an association between meeting donor management goals and organ yield, prospective studies are lacking. In June 2008, nine donor management goals were prospectively implemented as a checklist and every donor after neurologic determination of death was managed to meet them. The donor management goals represented normal cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and endocrine end points. Data were collected for 7 months. Donor management goals "met" was defined a priori as achieving any seven of the nine donor management goals, and this was recorded at the time of consent, 12-18 hrs later, and prior to organ recovery. The primary outcome measure was ≥4 organs transplanted per donor, and binary logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of this outcome with a porgan procurement organizations in the five Southwestern United States (United Network for Organ Sharing Region 5). All standard criteria donors after neurologic determination of deaths. Prospective implementation of a donor management goal checklist. There were 380 standard criteria donors with 3.6±1.7 organs transplanted per donor. Fifteen percent had donor management goals met at the time of consent, 33% at 12-18 hrs, and 38% prior to organ recovery. Forty-eight percent had ≥4 organs transplanted per donor. Donors with ≥4 organs transplanted per donor had significantly more individual donor management goals met at all three time points. Independent predictors of ≥4 organs transplanted per donor were age (odds ratio=0.95 per year), final creatinine (odds ratio=0.75 per 1-unit increase), donor management goals "met" at consent (odds ratio=2.03), donor management goals "met" prior to organ recovery (odds ratio=2.34), and a change in the number of

  4. Hepatitis C virus risk factors in blood donors from Sohag governorate, Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Abdelaziz

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV worldwide. Most of data came from lower Egypt regions (Cairo and northern to it. So, we decided to study risk factors and prevalence of HCV transmission in our governorate. In this cross sectional study, we recruited 631 blood donors from April, 2011 to March 2012 who were tested for anti-HCV, HBs Ag, anti- HBc and anti-HIV. Fifty seven donors were excluded as they are HBs Ag and anti-HBc positive. We found 138 (24% HCV seropositive participants. Logistic regression final model demonstrated that endoscopy, hospital admission, socioeconomic status, IV drug use and age made a significant contribution to prediction (P=0.0001. The level of education also made significant contribution to prediction (P=0.014. In conclusion, it is wise to determine high HCV prevalence areas and risk factors for its seropositivity then build up a governorate suitable infection control program concentrating upon prevention more than treatment of HCV patients. Also, the introduction of pre-test and post-test counseling in blood banks will help in better donor selection and early detection of patients.

  5. Human decellularized bone scaffolds from aged donors show improved osteoinductive capacity compared to young donor bone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher A Smith

    Full Text Available To improve the safe use of allograft bone, decellularization techniques may be utilized to produce acellular scaffolds. Such scaffolds should retain their innate biological and biomechanical capacity and support mesenchymal stem cell (MSC osteogenic differentiation. However, as allograft bone is derived from a wide age-range, this study aimed to determine whether donor age impacts on the ability an osteoinductive, acellular scaffold produced from human bone to promote the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSC. BM-MSCs from young and old donors were seeded on acellular bone cubes from young and old donors undergoing osteoarthritis related hip surgery. All combinations resulted in increased osteogenic gene expression, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP enzyme activity, however BM-MSCs cultured on old donor bone displayed the largest increases. BM-MSCs cultured in old donor bone conditioned media also displayed higher osteogenic gene expression and ALP activity than those exposed to young donor bone conditioned media. ELISA and Luminex analysis of conditioned media demonstrated similar levels of bioactive factors between age groups; however, IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP1 concentration was significantly higher in young donor samples. Additionally, structural analysis of old donor bone indicated an increased porosity compared to young donor bone. These results demonstrate the ability of a decellularized scaffold produced from young and old donors to support osteogenic differentiation of cells from young and old donors. Significantly, the older donor bone produced greater osteogenic differentiation which may be related to reduced IGFBP1 bioavailability and increased porosity, potentially explaining the excellent clinical results seen with the use of allograft from aged donors.

  6. Hearing aid user guides: suitability for older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caposecco, Andrea; Hickson, Louise; Meyer, Carly

    2014-02-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse the content, design, and readability of printed hearing aid user guides to determine their suitability for older adults, who are the main users of hearing aids. Hearing aid user guides were assessed using four readability formulae and a standardized tool to assess content and design (SAM - Suitability Assessment of Materials). A sample of 36 hearing aid user guides (four user guides from nine different hearing aid manufacturers) were analysed. Sixty nine percent of user guides were rated 'not suitable' and 31% were rated 'adequate' for their suitability. Many scored poorly for scope, vocabulary, aspects of layout and typography, and learning stimulation and motivation. The mean reading grade level for all user guides was grade 9.6 which is too high for older adults. The content, design, and readability of hearing aid user guides are not optimal for older adults and thus may serve as a barrier to successful hearing aid outcomes for this population.

  7. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with leukemia: a single institution experience with respect to donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Hee Jo; Kook, Hoon; Han, Dong Kyun; Hwang, Tai Ju

    2011-12-01

    Aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of transplantation by donor source and to help select the best alternative donor in children with leukemia. Donor sources included matched related donor (MRD, n = 35), allele-matched unrelated donor (M-UD, n = 10) or -mismatched (MM)-UD (n = 13) or unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB, n = 11). UCB group had a significantly higher incidence of grade II-IV acute graft versus host disease (MRD, 11.8%; M-UD, 30.0%; MM-UD, 15.4%, UCB, 54.4%, P = 0.004) but there was no difference in incidence of chronic graft versus host disease between 4 groups. The 5-yr leukemia-free survival (LFS) was 76.7%, 60.0%, 69.2%, and 45.5%, respectively (P = 0.128). MRD group showed higher LFS rate than UCB group (P = 0.022). However, LFS of M-UD and MM-UD together (65.2%) was not different from that of MRD group (76.7%, P = 0.325), or from that of UCB (45.5%, P = 0.190). The relapse incidence at 5 yr was 17.1%, 20.0%, 15.4%, and 0%, respectively (P = 0.460). The 100-day treatment-related mortality was 2.9%, 20.0%, 7.7%, and 36.4%, respectively (P = 0.011). Despite the limitations of small number of patients, unrelated donor transplants including even allele-mismatched ones, seem to be as effective in children with leukemia lacking suitable relative donors. Also, UCB transplant may serve as another possible option in urgent transplants.

  8. Join the club: a modest proposal to increase availability of donor organs.

    OpenAIRE

    Jarvis, R

    1995-01-01

    The shortage of suitable donor organs is the most significant single limiting factor in transplant programmes. More lives could be saved or immeasurably improved if more organs were available. I look at two traditional solutions to the shortfall, and suggest that they are ineffective and/or offensive, and consider the features common to any answer to the problem. I then suggest a third solution: that admission to future transplant lists be conditional on registration as a potential organ dono...

  9. Associations between Deceased-Donor Urine MCP-1 and Kidney Transplant Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansour, S G; Puthumana, J; Reese, P P; Hall, I E; Doshi, M D; Weng, F L; Schröppel, B; Thiessen-Philbrook, H; Bimali, M; Parikh, C R

    2017-07-01

    Existing methods to predict recipient allograft function during deceased-donor kidney procurement are imprecise. Understanding the potential renal reparative role for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a cytokine involved in macrophage recruitment after injury, might help predict allograft outcomes. We conducted a sub-study of the multicenter prospective Deceased Donor Study cohort, which evaluated deceased kidney donors from five organ procurement organizations from May 2010 to December 2013. We measured urine MCP-1 (uMCP-1) concentrations from donor samples collected at nephrectomy to determine associations with donor acute kidney injury (AKI), recipient delayed graft function (DGF), 6-month estimated GFR (eGFR), and graft failure. We also assessed perfusate MCP-1 concentrations from pumped kidneys for associations with DGF and 6-month eGFR. AKI occurred in 111 (9%) donors. Median (interquartile range) uMCP-1 concentration was higher in donors with AKI compared to donors without AKI (1.35 [0.41-3.93] ng/ml vs. 0.32 [0.11-0.80] ng/ml, p<0.001). DGF occurred in 756 (31%) recipients, but uMCP-1 was not independently associated with DGF. Higher donor uMCP-1 concentrations were independently associated with higher 6-month eGFR in those without DGF [0.77 (0.10, 1.45) ml/min/1.73m 2 per doubling of uMCP1]. However, there were no independent associations between uMCP-1 and graft failure over a median follow-up of about 2 years. Lastly, perfusate MCP-1 concentrations significantly increased during pump perfusion but were not associated with DGF or 6-month eGFR. Donor uMCP-1 concentrations were modestly associated with higher recipient 6-month eGFR in those without DGF. However, the results suggest that donor uMCP-1 has minimal clinical utility given no associations with graft failure.

  10. Development of Organ-Specific Donor Risk Indices

    OpenAIRE

    Akkina, Sanjeev K.; Asrani, Sumeet K.; Peng, Yi; Stock, Peter; Kim, Ray; Israni, Ajay K.

    2012-01-01

    Due to the shortage of deceased donor organs, transplant centers accept organs from marginal deceased donors, including older donors. Organ-specific donor risk indices have been developed to predict graft survival using various combinations of donor and recipient characteristics. We will review the kidney donor risk index (KDRI) and liver donor risk index (LDRI) and compare and contrast their strengths, limitations, and potential uses. The Kidney Donor Risk Index has a potential role in devel...

  11. Iron deficiency among blood donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rigas, A S; Pedersen, O B; Magnussen, K

    2017-01-01

    Blood components collected from blood donors are an invaluable part of modern-day medicine. A healthy blood donor population is therefore of paramount importance. The results from the Danish Blood Donor Study (DBDS) indicate that gender, number of previous donations, time since last donation...... and menopausal status are the strongest predictors of iron deficiency. Only little information on the health effects of iron deficiency in blood donors exits. Possibly, after a standard full blood donation, a temporarily reduced physical performance for women is observed. However, iron deficiency among blood...... donors is not reflected in a reduced self-perceived mental and physical health. In general, the high proportion of iron-deficient donors can be alleviated either by extending the inter-donation intervals or by guided iron supplementation. The experience from Copenhagen, the Capital Region of Denmark...

  12. The Psychosocial and Independent Living Donor Advocate Evaluation and Post-surgery Care of Living Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudow, Dianne LaPointe; Swartz, Kathleen; Phillips, Chelsea; Hollenberger, Jennifer; Smith, Taylor; Steel, Jennifer L

    2015-09-01

    Solid organ transplantation as a treatment for end stage organ failure has been an accepted treatment option for decades. Despite advances in medicine and technology, and increased awareness of organ donation and transplantation, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. Living donation has been an option that has increased the number of transplants despite the continued shortage of deceased organs. In the early 2000s live donor transplantation reached an all-time high in the United States. As a result, a consensus meeting was convened in 2000 to increase the oversight of living donor transplantation. Both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the United Network for Organ Sharing developed regulations that transplant programs performing live donor transplantation. These regulations and guidelines involve the education, evaluation, informed consent process and living donor follow-up care. Two areas in which had significant changes included the psychosocial and the independent living donor advocate (ILDA) evaluation. The purpose of this paper was to outline the current regulations and guidelines associated with the psychosocial and ILDA evaluation as well as provide further recommendations for the administration of a high quality evaluation of living donors. The goals and timing of the evaluation and education of donors; qualifications of the health care providers performing the evaluation; components of the evaluation; education provided to donors; documentation of the evaluation; participation in the selection committee meeting; post-decline and post-donation care of donors is described. Caveats including the paired donor exchange programs and non-directed and directed donation are also considered.

  13. HLA matching in unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charron, D J

    1996-11-01

    The availability of an HLA-matched sibling donor in only 30% to 35% of patients requiring allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has led to the proposal of unrelated donors as an alternative source of bone marrow. The greater HLA incompatibility, which, although present, was undetected until recently in many unrelated donor BMT cases, has resulted in a higher rate of posttransplant complications and impaired acturial survival when compared with HLA-matched sibling BMT. Molecular HLA typing enables us to evaluate the impact of incompatibility at each locus in the outcome of unrelated donor BMT. The overall retrospective data would recommend that HLA-A, -B and -C allelic molecular matching should be implemented in addition to HLA-DR allelic matching. Further retrospective analysis is needed in order to assess which incompatibility or combinations are better tolerated than others. Only the definitive knowledge at the sequence level of the donor and the recipient HLA allelic diversity involved in controlling the allogeneic immune response will allow us to understand the precise biologic rationale of the graft-versus-host disease. Knowledge and control of the HLA incompatibilities should allow us to offset the detrimental effects of histoincompatibility while developing strategies to take advantage of the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect. Also the role of minor histocompatibility antigens remains largely unknown and will require careful evaluation before minor antigens can be used as a selection criterion in BMT. Carefully designed prospective studies will enable us to test the impact of each HLA locus. HLA typing and BMT represent a successful example of productive cooperation between basic and clinical sciences that should be pursued for the improvement of the clinical outcome of unrelated donor BMT.

  14. Q-FISH measurement of hepatocyte telomere lengths in donor liver and graft after pediatric living-donor liver transplantation: donor age affects telomere length sustainability.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youichi Kawano

    Full Text Available Along with the increasing need for living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT, the issue of organ shortage has become a serious problem. Therefore, the use of organs from elderly donors has been increasing. While the short-term results of LDLT have greatly improved, problems affecting the long-term outcome of transplant patients remain unsolved. Furthermore, since contradictory data have been reported with regard to the relationship between donor age and LT/LDLT outcome, the question of whether the use of elderly donors influences the long-term outcome of a graft after LT/LDLT remains unsettled. To address whether hepatocyte telomere length reflects the outcome of LDLT, we analyzed the telomere lengths of hepatocytes in informative biopsy samples from 12 paired donors and recipients (grafts of pediatric LDLT more than 5 years after adult-to-child LDLT because of primary biliary atresia, using quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH. The telomere lengths in the paired samples showed a robust relationship between the donor and grafted hepatocytes (r = 0.765, p = 0.0038, demonstrating the feasibility of our Q-FISH method for cell-specific evaluation. While 8 pairs showed no significant difference between the telomere lengths for the donor and the recipient, the other 4 pairs showed significantly shorter telomeres in the recipient than in the donor. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the donors in the latter group were older than those in the former (p = 0.001. Despite the small number of subjects, this pilot study indicates that donor age is a crucial factor affecting telomere length sustainability in hepatocytes after pediatric LDLT, and that the telomeres in grafted livers may be elongated somewhat longer when the grafts are immunologically well controlled.

  15. Deceased Organ Donors and PHS Risk Identification: Impact on Organ Usage and Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pruett, Timothy L; Clark, Marissa A; Taranto, Sarah E

    2017-07-01

    In 2013, the public health service (PHS) changed the criteria intended to identify organ donors that put the associated organ recipients at increased risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The changing donor demographics, organ utilization, and outcomes associated with this change are not known. A review of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database was performed to assess the impact of PHS donor designation on organ utilization and outcomes. After the 2013 modification, over 20% of all deceased organ donors in the United States were identified as PHS increased risk. Compared with the standard risk deceased organ donor, the PHS donor was younger, male, died from anoxia, more likely to be HCV and antibody reacting to hepatitis B core antigen+, and less likely to have diabetes or hypertension. Organs from the 18- to 34-year-old deceased donors with PHS risks (but relatively few medical comorbidities) and tested negative for HCV were less frequently transplanted compared with the standard risk donors (3.9 vs 4.2 organs transplanted per donor). However, the transplant patient and graft survival as well as risk of unexpected transmission of HIV, HBV, and HCV were equivalent, irrespective of PHS donor status. The rationale of using PHS donor designation that negatively impacts utilization of high-quality organs without the benefit of identifying the subset of organs with demonstrable proclivity to transmit HIV, HBV, or HCV needs to be reexamined.

  16. Working with previously anonymous gamete donors and donor-conceived adults: recent practice experiences of running the DNA-based voluntary information exchange and contact register, UK DonorLink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawshaw, Marilyn; Gunter, Christine; Tidy, Christine; Atherton, Freda

    2013-03-01

    This article describes recent practice experiences with donor conceived adults, donors, non-donor-conceived adult children of donors using the voluntary DNA-based register, UK DonorLink. It highlights additional complexities faced when using DNA rather than paper records for searching, in particular from the risk of false positives, low chances of success and potential inclusion of biological parents' DNA. Professionals' experiences in supporting those being "linked" suggest challenges as well as rewards. Registration carries the potential to be therapeutic for donor-conceived adults and donors and to enhance their political awareness regardless of links being made. Registrants value both peer and professional support, providing the latter can respond flexibly and be delivered by staff experienced in intermediary work. Given that the majority of those affected by donor conception internationally come from anonymous donation systems, these findings are highly pertinent and argue the need for political and moral debate about such service provision.

  17. Land Suitability Assessment for Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Development in Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Celián Román-Figueroa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Camelina (Camelina sativa L. is an oilseed with potential for use as a raw material in second-generation biofuels. Camelina has a seed yield of up to 2380 kg·ha−1 and contains around 45% fatty acids. Selection of a suitable site is critical for production optimization. The objective of this study was to determine Chilean agro-climatic suitability for establishing camelina as a productive alternative. Climate and soil requirements and geographical restraints were evaluated for the species, considering the climatological characteristics of its regions of origin, as well as regions where camelina is successfully grown in the rest of the world. The variables considered included factors (maximum temperatures of the warmest month, water deficits, and degree days and limitations (altitude, geomorphology, and current land use, which permitted the evaluation of the national territory for a certain level of suitability. It was determined that 1.3% of the national territory (960,664 ha has some degree of suitability for camelina adoption. Between the Biobío and Los Lagos regions, 49.0% of the land (471,203 ha is in the category of no thermic restrictions, with mild water restrictions, and mild soil restrictions or without information, which can be used for camelina production. The Los Ríos region has 21.4% surface area (321,176 ha with some level of suitability for camelina, the most suitable region to establish this crop in Chile. This research has provided valuable information applicable to new species and geographic areas which facilitate the adaptation of agricultural and forestry production to global changes.

  18. Defining and measuring blood donor altruism: a theoretical approach from biology, economics and psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, R; Ferguson, E

    2014-02-01

    While blood donation is traditionally described as a behaviour motivated by pure altruism, the assessment of altruism in the blood donation literature has not been theoretically informed. Drawing on theories of altruism from psychology, economics and evolutionary biology, it is argued that a theoretically derived psychometric assessment of altruism is needed. Such a measure is developed in this study that can be used to help inform both our understanding of the altruistic motives of blood donors and recruitment intervention strategies. A cross-sectional survey (N = 414), with a 1-month behavioural follow-up (time 2, N = 77), was designed to assess theoretically derived constructs from psychological, economic and evolutionary biological theories of altruism. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) variables and co-operation were also assessed at time 1 and a measure of behavioural co-operation at time 2. Five theoretical dimensions (impure altruism, kinship, self-regarding motives, reluctant altruism and egalitarian warm glow) of altruism were identified through factor analyses. These five altruistic motives differentiated blood donors from non-donors (donors scored higher on impure altruism and reluctant altruism), showed incremental validity over TPB constructs to predict donor intention and predicted future co-operative behaviour. These findings show that altruism in the context of blood donation is multifaceted and complex and, does not reflect pure altruism. This has implication for recruitment campaigns that focus solely on pure altruism. © 2013 The Authors. Vox Sanguinis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. on behalf of International Society of Blood Transfusion.

  19. Expanding the live kidney donor pool: ethical considerations regarding altruistic donors, paired and pooled programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Shaneel Rajendra; Chadha, Priyanka; Papalois, Vassilios

    2011-06-01

    In renal transplant, there is a well-known deficiency in organ supply relative to demand. Live donation provides superior results when compared with deceased donation including a better rate of graft success and fewer immunologic complications. This deficiency in organs leads to significant morbidity and mortality rates. Alternative avenues have been extensively explored that may expand the live donor pool. They include altruistic donation as well as paired and pooled exchange programs. Altruistic donation is a truly selfless act from a donor unknown to the recipient. Kidney paired donation involves 2 incompatible donor-recipient pairs swapping donors to produce compatibility. Pooled donation involves at least 2 pairs, and can take the form of domino chains in which altruistic input sets up a chain of transplants, in which each recipient's incompatible donor makes a donation for the next recipient. Despite application of these various methods, there lie extensive ethical issues surrounding them. Misconceptions frequently occur; for instance, the perceived benefit that donating an organ to a loved one is greater for a related donor than for an altruistic one. Additionally, it is frequently believed that immunologic incompatibility offers coerced donors liberation from surgery, and that overcoming these barriers by introducing exchange programs provides vulnerable donors less protection. This article explores these and other complex ethical issues surrounding the various methods of expanding the donor pool. The authors offer opinions that challenge the ethical issues and attempt to overcome those views that hinder progress in the field.

  20. Embryo donation parents' attitudes towards donors : comparison with adoption\\ud

    OpenAIRE

    MacCallum, Fiona

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Embryo donation produces a family structure where neither rearing parent is genetically related to the child, as in adoption. It is not known how embryo donation parents view the donors compared with how adoptive parents view the birth parents. \\ud METHODS: 21 couples with an embryo donation child aged 2–5 years were compared with 28 couples with an adopted child. Parents were administered a semi-structured interview, assessing knowledge of the donors/birth parents, frequency of t...

  1. Gamete donors' reasons for, and expectations and experiences of, registration with a voluntary donor linking register.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blyth, Eric; Crawshaw, Marilyn; Frith, Lucy; van den Akker, Olga

    2017-12-01

    This paper reports on a study of the views and experiences of 21 sperm donors and five egg donors registered with UK DonorLink (UKDL), a voluntary DNA-based contact register established to facilitate contact between adults who wish to identify and locate others to whom they are genetically related following donor conception. Specifically, the paper examines donors' reasons for searching for, or making information about themselves available to donor-conceived offspring. Their expectations of registration with UKDL, experiences of being registered and finally, the experiences of those who had contacted donor-conceived offspring and other genetic relatives are investigated. While most respondents reported largely positive experiences of registration, the study found significant issues relating to concerns about donation, DNA testing, possible linking with offspring and expectations of any relationship that might be established with offspring that have implications for support, mediation and counselling. Research that puts the experiences, perceptions and interests of gamete donors as the central focus of study is a relatively recent phenomenon. This study contributes to this debate and highlights directions for future research in this area.

  2. Recent advances in photoinduced donor/acceptor copolymerization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joensson, S.; Viswanathan, K.; Hoyle, C.E.; Clark, S.C.; Miller, C.; Morel, F.; Decker, C.

    1999-01-01

    Photoinitiated free radical polymerization of donor (D)/acceptor (A) type monomers has gained considerable interest due to the possibility to efficiently photopolymerize non-acrylate based systems. Furthermore, this photoinduced alternating copolymerization can be accomplished without the presence of a conventional free radical generating photoinitiator. In the past, we have shown that the structural influences in the direct photolysis of N-Alkyl and N-Arylmaleimides as well as their corresponding ground state charge transfer complexes (CTC) with suitable donors have carefully been investigated. For certain combinations of A and D type monomers, a direct photolysis of the ground state complex or the excitation of the acceptor, followed by the formation of an exciplex, has been shown to initiate the copolymerization. Herein, we show that the main route of initiation is based on inter or intra molecular H-abstraction from an excited state maleimide, whereby no exciplex formation takes place. H-abstraction will predominantly take place in systems where easily abstractable hydrogens are present. Our laser flash photolysis investigation, ESR (A. Hiroshi, I. Takasi, T. Nosi, Macromol. Chem. 190 (1989) 2821) and phosphorescence emissions (K.S. Chen, T. Foster, J.K.S. Wan, J. Phys. Chem. 84 (1980) 2473; C.J. Seliskar, S.P. McGlynn, J. Chem. Phys. 55 (1971) 4337) studies show that triplet excited states of N-alkyl substituted maleimides (RMI), which are well known strong precursors for direct H-abstractions from aliphatic ethers and secondary alcohols, are formed upon excitation. Rates of copolymerization and degrees of conversion for copolymerization of maleimide/vinyl ether pairs in air and nitrogen have been measured as a function of hydrogen abstractability of the excited triplet state MI as well as the influence of concentration and hydrogen donating effect of the hydrogen donor

  3. Donor catch-up growth after laser surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chmait, Ramen H; Chon, Andrew H; Schrager, Sheree M; Kontopoulos, Eftichia V; Quintero, Rubén A; Vanderbilt, Douglas L

    2015-12-01

    To assess fetal growth after laser surgery for TTTS at the time of prenatal diagnosis, birth, and at 2years of age. Growth data were collected from surviving children treated between 2007 and 2010 as part of a study to assess neurodevelopment at 24months (±6weeks) corrected age. Fetal weights were obtained via ultrasound using Hadlock's formula at the time of preoperative assessment for laser surgery. Birth weights were recorded by the staff at the delivering institutions. Weights at 2years corrected age were recorded at the time of neurodevelopmental testing. Weights were converted into percentiles according to standard growth curves. Growth restriction was defined as demise, intrauterine growth restriction, Quintero stage, and gestational age of surgery or delivery. 48.5% were donors. The median fetal, birth, and 2-year weights for all twins were 288g, 1.9kg, and 11.8kg, respectively, and the overall prevalence of growth restriction was 28%, 22%, and 3%, respectively. Growth restriction rates at prenatal diagnosis were 56% in donors vs. 2% in recipients (OR=64.3, p<0.001); at birth, 35% vs. 10% (OR=5.0, p<0.01); and at 2years, 6% vs. 0%. Donors showed significant gains in weight percentile (B=13.1, p<0.001) and a significant decrease in growth restriction rates over time (B=-1.6, p<0.001). Weight discordance between donor and recipient pairs also significantly decreased over time (linear F(1,42)=54.34, p<0.001). After laser surgery for TTTS, donor twins exhibit significant catch-up growth by two years of age. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Why Should Donors Care about Corruption?

    OpenAIRE

    Kolstad, Ivar

    2008-01-01

    Corruption is bad for donor business. Corruption reduces popular support for aid in donor countries. However, aid agencies should pay attention to corruption because it is the right thing to do, rather than just the smart thing to do. Donor anti-corruption policies require a strong grounding in ethics. Corruption produces bad development outcomes. This is the reasoning largely underlying donor anti-corruption efforts. The focus on consequences of corruption makes donor anticorruptioneffo...

  5. Being a haematopoietic stem cell donor for a sick sibling: Adult donors' experiences prior to donation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kisch, Annika; Bolmsjö, Ingrid; Lenhoff, Stig; Bengtsson, Mariette

    2015-10-01

    There is a lack of knowledge about sibling stem cell donors' experiences pre-donation and the waiting period before the donation might have been long. The donors and their corresponding sibling recipients were simultaneously included in two different interview studies. The results from the recipient study have been presented in a separate paper. The aim was to explore the experiences of being a stem cell donor for a sibling, prior to donation. Ten adult sibling donors were interviewed prior to stem cell donation. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative content analysis. The main theme Being a cog in a big wheel describes the complex process of being a sibling donor prior to donation, covering a mixture of emotions and thoughts. The four subthemes Being available, Being anxious, Being concerned and Being obliged cover the various experiences. The sibling donors' experiences are influenced by the quality of the relationship with the sick sibling. Sibling stem cell donors go through a complex process once they have accidentally got involved in. They have been asked to become a donor; it was not a voluntary choice. In caring for sibling stem cell donors the nurses should be aware of the complexity of the process they experience and take into consideration their personal situation and needs. Providing optimal care for both sibling donors and their corresponding recipients is a challenge, and further improvement and exploration are needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The Impact of Total Ischemic Time, Donor Age and the Pathway of Donor Death on Graft Outcomes After Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Germaine; Teixeira-Pinto, Armando; Chapman, Jeremy R; Craig, Jonathan C; Pleass, Henry; McDonald, Stephen; Lim, Wai H

    2017-06-01

    Prolonged ischemia is a known risk factor for delayed graft function (DGF) and its interaction with donor characteristics, the pathways of donor death, and graft outcomes may have important implications for allocation policies. Using data from the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant registry (1994-2013), we examined the relationship between total ischemic time with graft outcomes among recipients who received their first deceased donor kidney transplants. Total ischemic time (in hours) was defined as the time of the donor renal artery interruption or aortic clamp, until the time of release of the clamp on the renal artery in the recipient. A total of 7542 recipients were followed up over a median follow-up time of 5.3 years (interquartile range of 8.2 years). Of these, 1823 (24.6%) experienced DGF and 2553 (33.9%) experienced allograft loss. Recipients with total ischemic time of 14 hours or longer experienced an increased odd of DGF compared with those with total ischemic time less than 14 hours. This effect was most marked among those with older donors (P value for interaction = 0.01). There was a significant interaction between total ischemic time, donor age, and graft loss (P value for interaction = 0.03). There was on average, a 9% increase in the overall risk of graft loss per hour increase in the total ischemic time (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.18; P = 0.02) in recipients with older donation after circulatory death grafts. There is a clinically important interaction between donor age, the pathway of donor death, and total ischemic time on graft outcomes, such that the duration of ischemic time has the greatest impact on graft survival in recipients with older donation after circulatory death kidneys.

  7. Assessing the suitability of Norway spruce wood as an environmental archive for sulphur

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrelet, T.; Ulrich, A.; Rennenberg, H.; Zwicky, C.N.; Kraehenbuehl, U.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of Norway spruces (Picea abies L. Karst.) as an environmental archive for sulphur. For this purpose spruce trees were sampled in two distinct regions of Switzerland: the Alps and the Swiss Plateau, which differ significantly with respect to S immission. Wood samples were measured using two methods: LASER Ablation high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-HR-ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after acid digestion. Independently corroborated by previous measurements of sulphur in peat bogs, the rise and fall of sulphur dioxide pollution in Switzerland appears to be reflected in spruce wood sulphur content. While the wood sulphur content profile of trees sampled in the Alps is relatively flat, the profiles of trees located on the Swiss Plateau display a characteristic sulphur peak. This corresponds to air pollution data in the different regions and indicates that the trees reacted on the changing S supply and recorded a pollution signal in the wood. - Norway spruce is a suitable archive for sulphur when physiological aspects and limitations are taken into account

  8. Donor conversion and procurement failure: the fate of our potential organ donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branco, Bernardino C; Inaba, Kenji; Lam, Lydia; Salim, Ali; Barmparas, Galinos; Teixeira, Pedro G R; Talving, Peep; Demetriades, Demetrios

    2011-02-01

    Donor availability remains the primary limiting factor for organ transplantation today. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes of procurement failure amongst potential organ donors. After Institutional Review Board approval, all surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients admitted to the LAC+USC Medical Center from 01/2006 to 12/2008 who became potential organ donors were identified. Demographics, clinical data, and procurement data were abstracted. In non-donors, the causes of procurement failure were documented. During the 3-year study period, a total of 254 patients were evaluated for organ donation. Mean age was 44.8±18.7 years; 191 (75.2%) were male, 136 (53.5%) were Hispanic, and 148 (58.3%) were trauma patients. Of the 254 patients, 116 (45.7%) were not eligible for donation: 34 had multi-system organ failure, 24 did not progress to brain death and had support withdrawn, 18 had uncontrolled sepsis, 15 had malignancy, 6 had human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B or C, and 19 patients had other contraindications to organ donation. Of the remaining 138 eligible patients, 83 (60.2%) did not donate: 56 because the family denied consent, 9 by their own choice. In six, next of kin could not be located, five died because of hemodynamic instability before organ procurement was possible, four had organs that could not be placed, and three had their organs declined by the organ procurement organization. The overall consent rate was 57.5% (n=67). From the 55 donors, 255 organs were procured (yield 4.6 organs/donor). Of all patients screened for organ donation, only a fifth actually donated. Denial of consent was the major potentially preventable cause of procurement failure, whereas hemodynamic instability accounted for only a small percentage of donor losses. With such low conversion rates, the preventable causes of procurement failure warrant further study.

  9. Can donor aid for health be effective in a poor country? Assessment of prerequisites for aid effectiveness in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ssengooba Freddie

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Inadequate funding for health is a challenge to attaining health-related Millennium Development Goals. Significant increase in health funding was recommended by the Commission for Macroeconomics and Health. Indeed Official Development Assistance has increased significantly in Uganda. However, the effectiveness of donor aid has come under greater scrutiny. This paper scrutinizes the prerequisites for aid effectiveness. The objective of the study was to assess the prerequisites for effectiveness of donor aid, specifically, its proportion to overall health funding, predictability, comprehensiveness, alignment to country priorities, and channeling mechanisms. Methods:Secondary data obtained from various official reports and surveys were analyzed against the variables mentioned under objectives. This was augmented by observations and participation in discussions with all stakeholders to discuss sector performance including health financing. Results:Between 2004−2007, the level of aid increased from US$6 per capita to US$11. Aid was found to be unpredictable with expenditure varying between 174−360 percent from budgets. More than 50% of aid was found to be off budget and unavailable for comprehensive planning. There was disproportionate funding for some items such as drugs. Key health system elements such as human resources and infrastructure have not been given due attention in investment. The government’s health funding from domestic sources grew only modestly which did not guarantee fiscal sustainability. Conclusion: Although donor aid is significant there is need to invest in the prerequisites that would guarantee its effective use.

  10. Can donor aid for health be effective in a poor country? Assessment of prerequisites for aid effectiveness in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juliet, Nabyonga Orem; Freddie, Ssengooba; Okuonzi, Sam

    2009-10-22

    Inadequate funding for health is a challenge to attaining health-related Millennium Development Goals. Significant increase in health funding was recommended by the Commission for Macroeconomics and Health. Indeed Official Development Assistance has increased significantly in Uganda. However, the effectiveness of donor aid has come under greater scrutiny. This paper scrutinizes the prerequisites for aid effectiveness. The objective of the study was to assess the prerequisites for effectiveness of donor aid, specifically, its proportion to overall health funding, predictability, comprehensiveness, alignment to country priorities, and channeling mechanisms. Secondary data obtained from various official reports and surveys were analyzed against the variables mentioned under objectives. This was augmented by observations and participation in discussions with all stakeholders to discuss sector performance including health financing. Between 2004-2007, the level of aid increased from US$6 per capita to US$11. Aid was found to be unpredictable with expenditure varying between 174-8722;360 percent from budgets. More than 50% of aid was found to be off budget and unavailable for comprehensive planning. There was disproportionate funding for some items such as drugs. Key health system elements such as human resources and infrastructure have not been given due attention in investment. The government's health funding from domestic sources grew only modestly which did not guarantee fiscal sustainability. Although donor aid is significant there is need to invest in the prerequisites that would guarantee its effective use.

  11. Hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Meyer

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess results obtained with the authors' technique of right hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy in living kidney donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 16 kidney donors who underwent hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy from February 2001 to July 2004. Among these patients, 7 were male and 9 were female, with mean age ranging between 22 and 58 years (mean 35.75. RESULTS: Surgical time ranged from 55 to 210 minutes (mean 127.81 min and warm ischemia time from 2 to 6 minutes (mean 3.78 min with mean intra-operative blood loss estimated at 90.62 mL. There was no need for conversion in any case. Discharge from hospital occurred between the 3rd and 6th days (mean 3.81. On the graft assessment, immediate diuresis was seen in 15 cases (93.75% and serum creatinine on the 7th post-operative day was 1.60 mg/dL on average. Renal vein thrombosis occurred in 1 patient (6.25% who required graft removal, and lymphocele was seen in 1 recipient (6.25%. CONCLUSION: Hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donors is a safe and effective alternative to open nephrectomy. Despite a greater technical difficulty, the procedure presented low postoperative morbidity providing good morphological and functional quality of the graft on the recipient.

  12. Philanthropic Motivations of Community College Donors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Linnie S.; Duggan, Molly H.

    2011-01-01

    This descriptive study surveyed current, lapsed, and major gift donors to explore the impact of college communications on donors' decisions to contribute to the college, the likelihood of donor financial support for various college projects, and the philanthropic motivation profiles of the donors of a midsized, multicampus community college in…

  13. Blood donor: nursing care plan

    OpenAIRE

    Marco Antonio Zapata Sampedro; Laura Castro Varela

    2008-01-01

    The standardized nursing care plan can be used as a means through which the nurse will assess and identify the particular needs of the blood donor.To draw up the care plan, we have conducted the evaluation on the basis of the Marjory Gordon’s functional health patterns.The more prevailing diagnosis according to the NANDA taxonomy have been identified, results have been established according to the NOC (Nursing Outcomes Classification) taxonomy, and nursing interventions have been suggested ac...

  14. The role of corneal endothelial morphology in graft assessment and prediction of endothelial cell loss during organ culture of human donor corneas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermel, Martin; Salla, Sabine; Fuest, Matthias; Walter, Peter

    2017-03-01

    Endothelial assessment is crucial in the release of corneas for grafting. We retrospectively analysed the role of endothelial morphology parameters in predicting endothelial cell loss during organ culture. Human donor corneas were cultured in minimal essential medium with 2% fetal calf serum and antibiotics. Initial endothelial morphology was assessed microscopically using score parameters polymegethism (POL), pleomorphism (PLE), granulation (GRA), vacuolization (VAC), segmentation of cell membranes (SEG), Descemet's folds (DF), trypan blue-positive cells (TBPC) and endothelial cell-free areas (ECFA). Some corneas were primarily rejected based on endothelial assessment. Endothelial cell density (ECD) was assessed at the beginning (I-ECD) and end of culture. Corneas were then placed in dehydration medium (as above + 5% dextran 500). In a subgroup, ECD was reassessed after dehydration. Endothelial cell loss during culture (ECL@Culture) and culture+dehydration (ECL-Culture&Dehydration) were calculated. Data were given as mean ± SD and analysed using multiple linear and logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. I-ECD was 2812 ± 360/mm 2 (n = 2356). The decision to reject a cornea due to endothelial assessment was associated negatively with I-ECD (OR = 0.77/100 cells, CI 0.7-0.82) and positively with ECFA (OR = 2.7, CI 1.69-4.35), SEG (OR =1.3, CI 1.01-1.68) and donor age (OR = 1.26/decade, CI 1.33-1.41). ECL@Culture was 153 ± 201/mm 2 (n = 1277), ECL@Culture&Dehydration was 169 ± 183/mm 2 (n = 918). ECL@Culture was associated positively with donor age, I-ECD, GRA and TBPC, and negatively with PLE, and DF. ECL@Culture&Dehydration was associated positively with age, sex, initial ECD, POL, PLE, VAC and TBPC. Morphological parameters displayed associations with the exclusion of corneas from culture and with endothelial cell loss. Appropriate parameter selection for screening purposes may help improve

  15. Measuring kidney patients' motivation to pursue living donor kidney transplant: development of stage of change, decisional balance and self-efficacy measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waterman, Amy D; Robbins, Mark L; Paiva, Andrea L; Peipert, John D; Davis, LaShara A; Hyland, Shelley S; Schenk, Emily A; Baldwin, Kari A; Amoyal, Nicole R

    2015-02-01

    While educational interventions to increase patient motivation to pursue living donor kidney transplant have shown success in increasing living donor kidney transplant rates, there are no validated, theoretically consistent measures of Stage of Change, a measure of readiness to pursue living donor kidney transplant; Decisional Balance, a weighted assessment of living donor kidney transplant's advantages/disadvantages; and Self-Efficacy, a measure of belief that patients can pursue living donor kidney transplant in difficult circumstances. This study developed and validated measures of these three constructs. In two independent samples of kidney patients (N 1 = 279 and N 2 = 204), results showed good psychometric properties and support for their use in the assessment of living donor kidney transplant interventions. © The Author(s) 2013.

  16. Diaphragmatic herniation following donor hepatectomy for living donor liver transplantation: a serious complication not given due recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lochan, Rajiv; Saif, Rehan; Ganjoo, Naveen; Sakpal, Mallikarjun; Panackal, Charles; Raja, Kaiser; Reddy, Jayanth; Asthana, Sonal; Jacob, Mathew

    2017-11-01

    A clear appreciation of benefits and risks associated with living donor hepatectomy is important to facilitate counselling for the donor, family, and recipient in preparation for living donor liver transplant (LDLT). We report a life-threatening complication occurring in one of our live liver donors at 12 weeks following hemi-liver donation. We experienced five donor complications among our first 50 LDLT: Clavien Grade 1, n=1; Clavien grade 2, n=3; and Clavien grade 3B, n=1. The one with Clavien grade 3B had a life-threatening diaphragmatic hernia occurring 12 weeks following hepatectomy. This was promptly recognized and emergency surgery was performed. The donor is well at 1-year follow-up. Here we provide a review of reported instances of diaphragmatic hernia following donor hepatectomy with an attempt to elucidate the pathophysiology behind such occurrence. Life-threatening donor risk needs to be balanced with recipient benefit and risk on a tripartite basis during the counselling process for LDLT. With increasing use of LDLT, we need to be aware of such life-threatening complication. Preventive measures in this regard and counselling for such complication should be incorporated into routine work-up for potential live liver donor.

  17. Informed consent and decision-making about adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation: a systematic review of empirical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Elisa J; Daud, Amna; Caicedo, Juan Carlos; Cameron, Kenzie A; Jay, Colleen; Fryer, Jonathan; Beauvais, Nicole; Skaro, Anton; Baker, Talia

    2011-12-27

    Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a complex procedure that poses serious health risks to and provides no direct health benefit for the donor. Because of this uneven risk-benefit ratio, ensuring donor autonomy through informed consent is critical. To assess the current knowledge pertaining to informed consent for LDLT, we conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature on donors' decision-making process, comprehension about risks and outcomes, and information needs for LDLT. Of the 1423 identified articles, 24 met final review criteria, representing the perspective of approximately 2789 potential and actual donors. As donors' decisions to donate often occur before evaluation, they often make uninformed decisions. The review found that 88% to 95% of donors reported understanding information clinicians disclosed about risks and benefits. However, donors reported unmet information needs, knowledge gaps regarding risks, and unanticipated complications. Few donors reported feeling pressure to donate. Most studies were limited by cultural differences, small sample sizes, inconsistent measures, and poor methodological approaches. This systematic review suggests that informed consent for LDLT is sub-optimal as donors do not adequately appreciate disclosed information during the informed consent process, despite United Network for Organ Sharing/CMS regulations requiring formal psychological evaluation of donor candidates. Interventions are needed to improve donor-clinician communication during the LDLT informed consent process such as through the use of comprehension assessment tools and e-health educational tools that leverage adult learning theory to effectively convey LDLT outcome data.

  18. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy increases the supply of living donor kidneys: a center-specific microeconomic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, P C; Johnson, L B

    2000-05-27

    A tenet of microeconomics is that new technology will shift the supply curve to the right. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) is a new technique for removal of living donor kidneys. Centers performing this procedure have noted an increased number of patients presenting for donor evaluation. This has not been previously studied. The records of all LDN performed from May 1998 to February 1999 were reviewed. The following variables were examined: sex, age, related vs. unrelated donation, estimated blood loss, i.v. analgesia, length of stay, and time out of work. Donors undergoing traditional open donor nephrectomy during January 1997 to May 1998 served as the control group. A composite cost index was constructed. LDN significantly decreased length of stay, pain, and time out of work; the supply function shifted to the right. Telephone interviews revealed that 47% donated solely because of the LDN procedure. LDN increases the supply of living donor kidneys.

  19. [Demography and donation frequencies of blood and plasma donor populations in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Sabine; Willand, L; Reinhard, B; Offergeld, R; Hamouda, O

    2008-08-01

    According to Article 22 of the Transfusion Act, the Robert Koch Institute collects and evaluates nationwide data on the prevalence and incidence of transfusion-relevant infections among blood and plasma donors in Germany. Due to revision of the Transfusion Act in 2005 not only the number of donations but also the number of donors has become available for analysis. Here we give a detailed account on the demographic profile and donation frequencies of German whole blood, plasma and platelet donors in 2006. Overall, 4 % of the German population eligible to donate were active as repeat whole blood donors in 2006; 0.3 % repeatedly donated plasma or platelets. Irrespective of the type of donation, the percentage of donors among the general population was highest among the youngest age group (18 to 24 years). While the age distribution of whole blood repeat donors roughly resembled that of the general population, with the greatest number among those aged 35 to 44, younger age groups were overrepresented among repeat plasma donors. Donation frequency varied depending on donor age and sex, with an average of 1.9 per year for whole blood donations, 11.9 for plasmapheresis and 4.0 for plateletpheresis. With the exception of the latter, men donated more frequently than women. For both sexes, donation frequency increased with age. Detailed knowledge of the demographic profile and changes in the composition of donor populations are essential for planning adequate blood supply. The data presented may serve as reference for assessing the consequences of measures that affect the number of donors and/or donations (for example changing deferral criteria) in Germany.

  20. Ex-vivo partial nephrectomy after living donor nephrectomy: Surgical technique for expanding kidney donor pool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaw A Nyame

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Renal transplantation has profound improvements in mortality, morbidity, and overall quality of life compared to renal replacement therapy. This report aims to illustrate the use of ex-vivo partial nephrectomy in a patient with a renal angiomyolipoma prior to living donor transplantation. The surgical outcomes of the donor nephrectomy and recipient transplantation are reported with 2 years of follow-up. Both the donor and recipient are healthy and without any significant comorbidities. In conclusion, urologic techniques such as partial nephrectomy can be used to expand the living donor pool in carefully selected and well informed transplant recipients. Our experience demonstrated a safe and positive outcome for both the recipient and donor, and is consistent with other reported outcomes in the literature.

  1. Suitability assessment of the urban water management transition in the Indonesian context - A case study of Surabaya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sholihah, Mar'atus; Anityasari, Maria; Maftuhah, Diesta Iva

    2017-06-01

    The rapidly growing urban population, the increasing impact of climate change, and the constantly decreasing availability of the good quality water become the major triggers that force urban water professionals to continuously focus on sustainable urban water management (SUWM). The city as a focal point of population growth in the world has become a critical object for its resiliency, not only in terms of the environmental deterioration but also of the water supplies security. As a response to the current condition, the framework of urban water management transition has been introduced as a sort of transformation for a city to achieve SUWM. Water Sensitive City (WSC) is the ultimate goal of this framework which integrates water access and supply security, public health protection, flood prevention, environmental protection and livability, and economic sustainability. Recently, the urban water management transition and WSC concept are going to be implemented in some cities in Indonesia, including Surabaya. However, in addition to provide a wide range of benefits, the implementation of WSC also brings challenges. In terms of geographical and social aspect, public policy, and the citizen behavior, the cities in Indonesia are undoubtedly different with those in Australian where the concept was developed. Hence, assessing the suitability of urban water management transition in the Indonesian context can be perceived as the most important phase in this whole plan. A case study of Surabaya would be identified as a baseline to measure whether the proposed sequence of urban water management transition is suitable for Indonesian local context. The research aimed to assess the suitability of the framework to be implemented in Indonesia and to propose the modified framework which is more suitable for local context in Indonesia.

  2. CT volumetry is superior to nuclear renography for prediction of residual kidney function in living donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbas, Andrew S; Li, Yanhong; Zair, Murtuza; Van, Julie A; Famure, Olusegun; Dib, Martin J; Laurence, Jerome M; Kim, S Joseph; Ghanekar, Anand

    2016-09-01

    Living kidney donor evaluation commonly includes nuclear renography to assess split kidney function and computed tomography (CT) scan to evaluate anatomy. To streamline donor workup and minimize exposure to radioisotopes, we sought to assess the feasibility of using proportional kidney volume from CT volumetry in lieu of nuclear renography. We examined the correlation between techniques and assessed their ability to predict residual postoperative kidney function following live donor nephrectomy. In a cohort of 224 live kidney donors, we compared proportional kidney volume derived by CT volumetry with split kidney function derived from nuclear renography and found only modest correlation (left kidney R(2) =26.2%, right kidney R(2) =26.7%). In a subset of 88 live kidney donors with serum creatinine measured 6 months postoperatively, we compared observed estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 6 months with predicted eGFR from preoperative imaging. Compared to nuclear renography, CT volumetry more closely approximated actual observed postoperative eGFR for Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (J-test: P=.02, Cox-Pesaran test: P=.01) and Mayo formulas (J-test: P=.004, Cox-Pesaran test: Pvolumetry for estimation of split kidney function in healthy individuals with normal kidney function and morphology. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shimul A Shah

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The present review outlines the principles of living donor liver transplantation, donor workup, procedure and outcomes. Living donation offers a solution to the growing gap between the need for liver transplants and the limited availability of deceased donor organs. With a multidisciplinary team focused on donor safety and experienced surgeons capable of performing complex resection/reconstruction procedures, donor morbidity is low and recipient outcomes are comparable with results of deceased donor transplantation.

  4. Does donor arterial partial pressure of oxygen affect outcomes after lung transplantation? A review of more than 12,000 lung transplants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zafar, Farhan; Khan, Muhammad S; Heinle, Jeffrey S; Adachi, Iki; McKenzie, E Dean; Schecter, Marc G; Mallory, George B; Morales, David L S

    2012-04-01

    In lung transplantation (LTx), the arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO(2)) is traditionally regarded as critical information for assessment of donor lung function. Each center sets its own thresholds; by convention, a donor PaO(2) of less than 300 mm Hg has been considered disqualifying. Limited literature exists to support such a practice. We analyzed all LTxs performed in the United States over a 9-year period to assess the effect of donor PaO(2) on graft survival. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was queried for LTx (January 2000-November 2009). Of 12,545 LTx performed, 12,045 (96%) had donor PaO(2) data on a fraction of inspired oxygen of 1.0, recorded at the time of procurement. Mean donor PaO(2) was 407 ± 140 mm Hg. The majority of LTxs had a donor PaO(2) greater than 300 mm Hg (9593 (80%]) whereas PaO(2) was 200 mm Hg or less in 1830 (15%) and 201 to 300 in 582 (5%) donors. Use of donors with a PaO(2) of less than 200 increased over time from 5% (45) in 2000 to 21% (295) in 2009 (P = .002). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed no difference in graft survival with differing donor PaO(2)s, irrespective of whether patients had a single or double LTx. A Cox multivariable analysis of 21 donor characteristics demonstrated that donor PaO(2) had no association with graft survival. Donor PaO(2) levels did not affect graft survival. The use of donors with lower PaO(2)s could substantially increase the donor pool. We are not suggesting that donor PaO(2) is not important when assessing potential lung donors but its level of importance in regard to other criteria appears less than previously believed. Copyright © 2012 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Amine donor and acceptor influence on the thermodynamics of ω-transaminase reactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gundersen, Maria T.; Abu, Rohana; Schürmann, Martin

    2015-01-01

    In recent years biocatalytic transamination using ω-transaminase has become established as one of the most interesting routes to synthesize chiral amines with a high enantiomeric purity, especially in the pharmaceutical sector where the demand for such compounds is high. Nevertheless, one limitat...... of such reactions because it may be used to help select suitable donor/acceptor combinations. The results presented here give guidance, with respect to thermodynamics, in order to further extend the application of biocatalytic transamination....... limitation for successful implementation and scale-up is that the thermodynamics of such conversions are frequently found unfavourable. Herein we report experimental measurements of apparent equilibrium constants for several industrially relevant transamination reactions in a systematic manner to better...... understand the effect of amine acceptor and donor choice. For example, we have found that ortho-substitution of acetophenone like molecules, had a significant impact on the thermodynamic equilibrium. Likewise, the effect of cyclic amine acceptors was evaluated and compared to similar non-cyclic structures...

  6. Peer-to-peer milk donors' and recipients' experiences and perceptions of donor milk banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gribble, Karleen D

    2013-07-01

    To explore the intersection of peer-to-peer milk sharing and donor milk banks. A descriptive survey design containing closed and open-ended questions was used to examine women's perceptions of peer-to-peer milk sharing and milk banking. Closed-ended questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics and conventional qualitative content analysis was used to analyze open-ended responses. Participants were recruited via the Facebook sites of two online milk-sharing networks (Human Milk 4 Human Babies and Eats on Feet). Ninety-eight milk donors and 41 milk recipients who had donated or received breast milk in an arrangement that was facilitated via the Internet. One half of donor recipients could not donate to a milk bank because there were no banks local to them or they did not qualify as donors. Other respondents did not donate to a milk bank because they viewed the process as difficult, had philosophical objections to milk banking, or had a philosophical attraction to peer sharing. Most donor respondents felt it was important to know the circumstances of their milk recipients. No recipient respondents had obtained milk from a milk bank; it was recognized that they would not qualify for banked milk or that banked milk was cost prohibitive. Peer-to-peer milk donors and recipients may differ from milk bank donors and recipients in significant ways. Cooperation between milk banks and peer sharing networks could benefit both groups. © 2013 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

  7. Blood donation and blood donor mortality after adjustment for a healthy donor effect

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ullum, Henrik; Rostgaard, Klaus; Kamper-Jørgensen, Mads

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that blood donors experience lower mortality than the general population. While this may suggest a beneficial effect of blood donation, it may also reflect the selection of healthy persons into the donor population. To overcome this bias, we...... investigated the relation between blood donation frequency and mortality within a large cohort of blood donors. In addition, our analyses also took into consideration the effects of presumed health differences linked to donation behavior. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using the Scandinavian Donation...... and mortality. The magnitude of the association was reduced after adjustment for an estimate of self-selection in the donor population. Our observations indicate that repeated blood donation is not associated with premature death, but cannot be interpreted as conclusive evidence of a beneficial health effect....

  8. Direct view at colossal permittivity in donor-acceptor (Nb, In) co-doped rutile TiO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandal, Suman; Pal, Somnath; Hazarika, Abhijit; Kundu, Asish K.; Menon, Krishnakumar S. R.; Rioult, Maxime; Belkhou, Rachid

    2016-01-01

    Topical observations of colossal permittivity (CP) with low dielectric loss in donor-acceptor cations co-doped rutile TiO 2 have opened up several possibilities in microelectronics and energy-storage devices. Yet, the precise origin of the CP behavior, knowledge of which is essential to empower the device integration suitably, is highly disputed in the literature. From spectromicroscopic approach besides dielectric measurements, we explore that microscopic electronic inhomogeneities along with the nano-scale phase boundaries and the low temperature polaronic relaxation are mostly responsible for such a dielectric behavior, rather than electron-pinned defect-dipoles/grain-boundary effects as usually proposed. Donor-acceptor co-doping results in a controlled carrier-hopping inevitably influencing the dielectric loss while invariably upholding the CP value.

  9. Renal donors with prostate cancer, no longer a reason to decline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dholakia, S; Johns, R; Muirhead, L; Papalois, V; Crane, J

    2016-01-01

    To fully assess the true risk of prostate cancer transmission in during renal transplantation. A full review of all existing literature relevant to the topic. There has not been a single documented case of transmission of prostate cancer during renal transplant. Prostate cancer in deceased organ donors has an incidence estimated between 3% and 18.5% and over 100 transplants have been performed using organs from donor with proven prostate cancer without issue. Transmission of prostate cancer through kidney transplantation seems very unlikely. The risks of remaining on the waiting list are outweighed by a transmission risk and the potential benefit makes the case to have clear guidelines about donor prostate malignancy when accepting potential organs. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Increasing the supply of kidneys for transplantation by making living donors the preferred source of donor kidneys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Testa, Giuliano; Siegler, Mark

    2014-12-01

    At the present time, increasing the use of living donors offers the best solution to the organ shortage problem. The clinical questions raised when the first living donor kidney transplant was performed, involving donor risk, informed consent, donor protection, and organ quality, have been largely answered. We strongly encourage a wider utilization of living donation and recommend that living donation, rather than deceased donation, become the first choice for kidney transplantation. We believe that it is ethically sound to have living kidney donation as the primary source for organs when the mortality and morbidity risks to the donor are known and kept extremely low, when the donor is properly informed and protected from coercion, and when accepted national and local guidelines for living donation are followed.

  11. Multidetector computed tomography for preoperative evaluation of vascular anatomy in living renal donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Türkvatan, Aysel; Akinci, Serkan; Yildiz, Sener; Olçer, Tülay; Cumhur, Turhan

    2009-04-01

    Currently, multidetector computed tomographic (MDCT) angiography has become a noninvasive alternative imaging modality to catheter renal angiography for the evaluation of renal vascular anatomy in living renal donors. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of 16-slice MDCT in the preoperative assessment of living renal donors. Fifty-nine consecutive living renal donors (32 men, 27 women) underwent MDCT angiography followed by open donor nephrectomy. All MDCT studies were performed by using a 16-slice MDCT scanner with the same protocol consisting of arterial and nephrographic phases followed by conventional abdominal radiography. The MDCT images were assessed retrospectively for the number and branching pattern of the renal arteries and for the number and presence of major or minor variants of the renal veins. The results were compared with open surgical results. The sensitivity and specificity of MDCT for the detection of anatomic variants of renal arteries including the accessory arteries (n = 9), early arterial branching (n = 7) and major renal venous anomalies including the accessory renal veins (n = 3), late venous confluence (n = 4), circumaortic (n = 2) or retroaortic (n = 3) left renal veins were 100%. However, the sensitivity for identification of minor venous variants was 79%. All of three ureteral duplications were correctly identified at excretory phase conventional abdominal radiography. Sixteen-slice MDCT is highly accurate for the identification of anatomic variants of renal arteries and veins. Dual-phase MDCT angiography including arterial and nephrographic phases followed by conventional abdominal radiography enables complete assessment of renal donors without significant increase of radiation dose. However, the evaluation of minor venous variants may be problematic because of their small diameters and poor opacification.

  12. Comparison of donor, and early and late recipient outcomes following hand assisted and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Steven M; Liaw, Aron; Mhapsekar, Rishi; Yelfimov, Daniel; Goggins, William C; Powelson, John A; Png, Keng Siang; Sundaram, Chandru P

    2013-02-01

    While laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has encouraged living kidney donation, debate exists about the safest laparoscopic technique. We compared purely laparoscopic and hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomies in terms of donor outcome, early graft function and long-term graft outcome. We reviewed the records of consecutive laparoscopic and hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomies performed by a single surgeon from 2002 to 2011. Donor operative time and perioperative morbidity were compared. Early graft function for kidneys procured by each technique was evaluated by rates of delayed graft function, need for dialysis and recipient discharge creatinine. Long-term outcomes were evaluated by graft function. A total of 152 laparoscopic donor nephrectomies were compared with 116 hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomies. Hand assisted procedures were more often done for the right kidney (41.1% vs 17.1%, p recipient outcomes were also similar. Delayed function occurred after 0% hand assisted vs 0.9% purely laparoscopic nephrectomies, dialysis was required in 0.9% vs 1.7% and rejection episodes developed in 9.7% vs 18.4% (p >0.05). At last followup the organ was nonfunctioning in 6.1% of hand assisted and 7.7% of purely laparoscopic cases (p >0.05). The recipient glomerular filtration rate at discharge home was similar in the 2 groups. Hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy had shorter warm ischemia time but perioperative donor morbidity and graft outcome were comparable. The choice of technique should be based on patient and surgeon preference. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Donor Telomere Length SAA

    Science.gov (United States)

    A new NCI study has found that, among patients with severe aplastic anemia who received a hematopoietic cell transplant from an unrelated donor, those whose donor white blood cells had longer telomeres had higher survival rates five-years after transplant

  14. Predictors of iron levels in 14,737 Danish blood donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rigas, Andreas Stribolt; Sørensen, Cecilie Juul; Pedersen, Ole Birger

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Dietary studies show a relationship between the intake of iron enhancers and inhibitors and iron stores in the general population. However, the impact of dietary factors on the iron stores of blood donors, whose iron status is affected by blood donations, is incompletely understood....... STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In the Danish Blood Donor Study, we assessed the effect of blood donation frequency, physiologic factors, lifestyle and supplemental factors, and dietary factors on ferritin levels. We used multiple linear and logistic regression analyses stratified by sex and menopausal status....... RESULTS: Among high-frequency donors (more than nine donations in the past 3 years), we found iron deficiency (ferritin below 15 ng/mL) in 9, 39, and 22% of men, premenopausal women, and postmenopausal women, respectively. The strongest predictors of iron deficiency were sex, menopausal status, the number...

  15. Open-Identity Sperm Donation: How Does Offering Donor-Identifying Information Relate to Donor-Conceived Offspring's Wishes and Needs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravelingien, An; Provoost, Veerle; Pennings, Guido

    2015-09-01

    Over the past years, a growing number of countries have legislated open-identity donation, in which donor-conceived offspring are given access to the donor's identity once the child has reached maturity. It is held that donor anonymity creates identity problems for such children similar to the "genealogical bewilderment" described within the adoption context. The study of the social and psychological effects of open-identity donation is still very much in its infancy, but what has been left unquestioned is whether (and to what extent) offering access to the donor's name and address is an adequate response to such effects. This study has two goals: First, we aim to provide a systematic review of the reasons why donor-conceived (DC) offspring want to know the identity of their sperm donor. Second, we examine to what extent the provision of donor-identifying information can satisfy the reasons mentioned. The most important motivations appear to be: (1) to avoid medical risks and consanguineous relationships; (2) to satisfy curiosity; (3) to learn more about the self or to complete one's identity; (4) to learn more about what kind of person the donor is (biographical information, why he donated, etc.); (5) to form a relationship with the donor and/or his family; and (6) to learn about one's ancestry/genealogy. Our analysis shows that for nearly all of these reasons access to the donor's identity is not necessary. In those cases where it is, moreover, donor identification is not sufficient. What is really needed is (extended) contact with the donor, rather than the mere provision of his name.

  16. Asymmetric Radical Cyclopropanation of Alkenes with In Situ-Generated Donor-Substituted Diazo Reagents via Co(II)-Based Metalloradical Catalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yong; Wen, Xin; Cui, Xin; Wojtas, Lukasz; Zhang, X Peter

    2017-01-25

    Donor-substituted diazo reagents, generated in situ from sulfonyl hydrazones in the presence of base, can serve as suitable radical precursors for Co(II)-based metalloradical catalysis (MRC). The cobalt(II) complex of D 2 -symmetric chiral porphyrin [Co(3,5-Di t Bu-Xu(2'-Naph)Phyrin)] is an efficient metalloradical catalyst that is capable of activating different N-arylsulfonyl hydrazones for asymmetric radical cyclopropanation of a broad range of alkenes, affording the corresponding cyclopropanes in high yields with effective control of both diastereo- and enantioselectivity. This Co(II)-based metalloradical system represents the first catalytic protocol that can effectively utilize donor-type diazo reagents for asymmetric olefin cyclopropanation.

  17. Deceased donor organ transplantation with expanded criteria donors: a single-center experience from India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goplani, K R; Firoz, A; Ramakrishana, P; Shah, P R; Gumber, M R; Patel, H V; Vanikar, A V; Trivedi, H L

    2010-01-01

    Deceased donor organ transplantation (DDOT) accounts for DKT) and 19 single (SKT). Fourteen donors had hypertension, a cerebrovascular accident as the cause of death, 9 had both, and 4 had diabetes. Mean donor age was 70.3 +/- 8.9 years. Decisions on the procedure were based upon frozen section biopsy in 13 of 21 donors. Mean DKT donor age was 76 +/- 9.7 years versu 64 +/- 5.7 years of SKT donors. The native kidney diseases were chronic glomerulonephritis (n = 14), diabetic nephropathy (n = 7), tubulointerstitial nephritis (n = 4) and polycystic kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, lupus nephritis and patchy cortical necrosis, (n = 1 each). Mean recipient age of DKT versus SKT was 43.5 versus 42.3 years. All recipients received rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin, followed by steroid, mycophenolate mofetil/calcinueurin inhibitor. Over a mean follow-up of 341 days, the mean serum creatinine (SCr) of 25/29 patients was 1.60 mg/dL (range, 1.0-2.6). The mean SCr of SKT patients was 1.59 +/- 0.63 mg/dL and of DKT, 1.62 +/- 0.48 mg/dL. Ten patients had delayed graft function and 11 had biopsy proven acute tubular necrosis. Seven (24%) patients had rejection (grade 3 Banff update '05, type IA; 4, type 2A); 6 responded to antirejection; 1 graft was lost at 7 months due to chronic rejection. Three (10.3%) patients were lost, 1 each due to AMI, sepsis, and CMV disease. In the circumstances of organ shortage, DDOT with expanded criteria donor is a feasible option.

  18. Active Donor Management During the Hospital Phase of Care Is Associated with More Organs Transplanted per Donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Madhukar S; De La Cruz, Salvador; Sally, Mitchell B; Groat, Tahnee; Malinoski, Darren J

    2017-10-01

    Meeting donor management goals when caring for potential organ donors has been associated with more organs transplanted per donor (OTPD). Concern persists, however, as to whether this indicates that younger/healthier donors are more likely to meet donor management goals or whether active management affects outcomes. A prospective observational study of all standard criteria donors was conducted by 10 organ procurement organizations across United Network for Organ Sharing Regions 4, 5, and 6. Donor management goals representing normal critical care end points were measured at 2 time points: when a catastrophic brain injury was recognized and a referral was made to the organ procurement organization by the DH; and after brain death was declared and authorization for organ donation was obtained. Donor management goals Bundle "met" was defined as achieving any 7 of 9 end points. A positive Bundle status change was defined as not meeting the Bundle at referral and subsequently achieving it at authorization. The primary outcomes measure was having ≥4 OTPD. Data were collected for 1,398 standard criteria donors. Of the 1,166 (83%) who did not meet the Bundle at referral, only 254 (22%) had a positive Bundle status change. On adjusted analysis, positive Bundle status change increased the odds of achieving ≥4 OTPD significantly (odds ratio 2.04; 95% CI 1.49 to 2.81; p management goal Bundle status change during donor hospital management is associated with a 2-fold increase in achieving ≥4 OTPD. Active critical care management of the potential organ donor, as evidenced by improvement in routinely measured critical care end points can be a means by which to substantially increase the number of organs available for transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Accurate donor electron wave functions from a multivalley effective mass theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendo, Luke; Hu, Xuedong

    Multivalley effective mass (MEM) theories combine physical intuition with a marginal need for computational resources, but they tend to be insensitive to variations in the wavefunction. However, recent papers suggest full Bloch functions and suitable central cell donor potential corrections are essential to replicating qualitative and quantitative features of the wavefunction. In this talk, we consider a variational MEM method that can accurately predict both spectrum and wavefunction of isolated phosphorus donors. As per Gamble et. al, we employ a truncated series representation of the Bloch function with a tetrahedrally symmetric central cell correction. We use a dynamic dielectric constant, a feature commonly seen in tight-binding methods. Uniquely, we use a freely extensible basis of either all Slater- or all Gaussian-type functions. With a large basis able to capture the influence of higher energy eigenstates, this method is well positioned to consider the influence of external perturbations, such as electric field or applied strain, on the charge density. This work is supported by the US Army Research Office (W911NF1210609).

  20. [Lack of donor organs as an argument for living donors?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirste, G

    2010-09-01

    In Germany more than 12,000 patients are presently waiting for an organ donation. Living donation makes sense for the long waiting time for a kidney, but it is not a permanent solution for the lack of organ donations. In the future topics which should be discussed are intensified public relations, a better family care and the allocation of rights and duties at the German coordinating agency. For all the prospects of success after a living donation the high standards of quality and security, which are targeted by the German donor organization in recipient protection, responsible evaluation of the expanded donor criteria and immunosuppressive therapy are all in favor of post-mortem organ donation. For all the phenomenal chance of success the priority of the post-mortem organ donation is regulated by law. The living donation remains an individual decision of the donor and the personal situation of life.

  1. Evaluation of didactic suitability indicators from curricular orientations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Arteaga

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Assessment of didactic suitability of mathematics teaching and learning processes requires suitable instruments to guide and support it. This paper presents a methodology for progressive improvement of such instruments to evaluate the suitability of mathematical instruction processes based on the analysis of curricular orientations. Analysis units are classifi ed according to the facets and components proposed by the Didactic Suitability Theory to identify norms and suitability indicators,which are compared with the system proposed by this theory, in order to point out agreements and complementarities. This methodology is exemplified through its application to the principles and standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM in the statistics content area at the level K-8.

  2. ANALYSIS OF LAND RESOURCES SUITABILITY BY FUNCTIONAL MODEL IN EASTERN CROATIA REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Vukadinović

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available A total of 17405 soil samples (2003rd-2009th years were analyzed in the eastern part of Croatia. The aim of this paper is to assess land suitability for crops i.e. to describe quantitatively land quality and indicate disadvantages of land using system in investigated area. The described mathematical model uses score functions for estimating indicators of soil suitability. Soil suitability assessment computer model for crops, supported by GIS, proved to be fast, efficient and enough reliable. Using GIS tool it is possible to visualize land suitability and present it in different cartographic bases such as maps whereas using geostatistical method – kriging enables to possible to provide regionalization of production area based on quantitative assessment of land suitability for crops.

  3. Donor-derived aspergillosis from use of a solid organ recipient as a multiorgan donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, N J; Weisser, M; Fehr, T; Wüthrich, R P; Müllhaupt, B; Lehmann, R; Imhof, A; Aubert, J-D; Genoni, M; Kunz, R; Weber, M; Steiger, J

    2010-02-01

    The growing need for organs and the scarcity of donors has resulted in an increased use of extended criteria donors. We report a case where a recipient of a cardiac graft was used as an organ donor. Death of the recipient occurred 9 days after transplantation and was attributed to presumed cerebral hemorrhage, which post mortem was diagnosed as invasive aspergillosis of the brain. One recipient of a kidney transplant lost the graft due to infection with Aspergillus fumigatus, whereas prompt initiation of therapy successfully prevented disseminated aspergillosis in the other recipients. Despite the pressure to extend the use of organs by lowering the acceptance criteria, organs should only be accepted if the cause of death of the donors is unequivocally explained.

  4. Systems of donor transfer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.T. de Charro (Frank); J.E.M. Akveld (Hans); E. Hessing (Ellen)

    1993-01-01

    textabstractThe development of medical knowledge has resulted in a demand in society for donor organs, but the recruitment of donor organs for transplantation is difficult. This paper aims to provide some general insights into the complex interaction processes involved. A laissez-faire policy, in

  5. Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation

    OpenAIRE

    Shah, Shimul A; Levy, Gary A; Adcock, Lesley D; Gallagher, Gary; Grant, David R

    2006-01-01

    The present review outlines the principles of living donor liver transplantation, donor workup, procedure and outcomes. Living donation offers a solution to the growing gap between the need for liver transplants and the limited availability of deceased donor organs. With a multidisciplinary team focused on donor safety and experienced surgeons capable of performing complex resection/reconstruction procedures, donor morbidity is low and recipient outcomes are comparable with results of decease...

  6. Method for assessment of the technical potential of the plant agricultural waste suitable for energy purposes in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgiev, V.

    2004-01-01

    A method for assessment of technical potential of quantitatively important plant agriculture waste; straw from wheat and barley; corn stalks; sunflower stalks and heads; tobacco stalks; orchard prunings and vineyard prunings suitable for energy purposes for Bulgarian conditions is developed. Data for assessment of the technical potential for 2002 using this method are presented. A comparison between technical potential of mentioned wastes, final energy consumption in agriculture and all branches of Bulgarian economy for 2002 is made. (author)

  7. Is it time to revisit contraindications to organ donation from donors with a JAK-2 mutation? Safe use of a liver allograft from a donor with essential thrombocythaemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haldar, Debashis; Chen, Frederick; Byron, Jane; Elsharkawy, Ahmed Mohamed; Perera, M Thamara Pr

    2015-07-01

    Transplantation can cure end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the balance of organ demand and provision is heavily tipped to the detriment of patients. Patients awaiting transplantation rely on the greater use of marginal donors that may carry a risk to the recipient. UK authorities have decreed donor haematological malignancy an absolute contraindication. The authors describe the first report of a patient being safely transplanted with a liver from a donor who suffered from JAK2 V617F mutation-driven essential thrombocythaemia to a patient with a critical burden of hepatocellular carcinoma. A year after transplantation, the patient has neither evidence of acquisition of the donor's pathology, nor evidence of carcinoma recurrence. The case highlights the responsibility of the recipient team to maximize the use of organs by expert risk assessment. Dissemination of experience should inform future decisions, benefit patients and bolster utility in an era of growing waiting-list mortality. © 2015 Steunstichting ESOT.

  8. Kidney transplant outcomes from older deceased donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pippias, Maria; Jager, Kitty J; Caskey, Fergus

    2018-01-01

    As the median age of deceased kidney donors rises, updated knowledge of transplant outcomes from older deceased donors in differing donor-recipient age groups is required. Using ERA-EDTA Registry data we determined survival outcomes of kidney allografts donated from the same older deceased donor...

  9. Children as donors : a national study to assess procurement of organs and tissues in pediatric intensive care units

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siebelink, Marion J.; Albers, Marcel J. I. J.; Roodbol, Petrie F.; Van de Wiel, Harry B. M.

    2012-01-01

    A shortage of size-matched organs and tissues is the key factor limiting transplantation in children. Empirical data on procurement from pediatric donors is sparse. This study investigated donor identification, parental consent, and effectuation rates, as well as adherence to the national protocol.

  10. Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as Anti-Inflammatory and Regenerative Mediators for Donor Kidneys During Normothermic Machine Perfusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra-Parraga, Jesus Maria; Eijken, Marco; Hunter, James; Moers, Cyril; Leuvenink, Henri; Møller, Bjarne; Ploeg, Rutger J; Baan, Carla C; Jespersen, Bente; Hoogduijn, Martin J

    2017-08-15

    There is great demand for transplant kidneys for the treatment of end-stage kidney disease patients. To expand the donor pool, organs from older and comorbid brain death donors, so-called expanded criteria donors (ECD), as well as donation after circulatory death donors, are considered for transplantation. However, the quality of these organs may be inferior to standard donor organs. A major issue affecting graft function and survival is ischemia/reperfusion injury, which particularly affects kidneys from deceased donors. The development of hypothermic machine perfusion has been introduced in kidney transplantation as a preservation technique and has improved outcomes in ECD and marginal organs compared to static cold storage. Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is the most recent evolution of perfusion technology and allows assessment of the donor organ before transplantation. The possibility to control the content of the perfusion fluid offers opportunities for damage control and reparative therapies during machine perfusion. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been demonstrated to possess potent regenerative properties via the release of paracrine effectors. The combination of NMP and MSC administration at the same time is a promising procedure in the field of transplantation. Therefore, the MePEP consortium has been created to study this novel modality of treatment in preparation for human trials. MePEP aims to assess the therapeutic effects of MSC administered ex vivo by NMP in the mechanisms of injury and repair in a porcine kidney autotransplantation model.

  11. Determine The Factors Affecting The Blood Donors Of Selecting Blood Donor Program Me In Western Province Sri Lanka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perera D. A. K.

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Blood and blood component transfusion is one of the major therapeutic practices throughout the world. National Blood Transfusion Service NBTS in Sri Lanka requires approximately 300000 blood units annually. After initiating mobile donor programme there have been two types of blood donation programs in Sri Lanka since 1980. Since second half of first decade of 21st century Sri Lanka shifted to 100 non-replacement blood transfusion policy. That means whole blood and blood component requirement of NBTS has to be collected through mobile blood donor program and voluntary In-house blood donor program. Therefore the objective of this study was to determine the factors affecting the blood donors of selecting blood donor program in Western province Sri Lanka. Methodology This was a cross sectional descriptive study. The study composed of two components. .First the factors that cause the blood donor to select a blood donor programme second the facility survey of blood banks In-house donation. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 410 Mobile blood donors. Facility survey was done using a checklist. The dependant variables were the attendance of the blood donors to Mobile blood donation and In-house blood donation. Independent variables included were the factors related to socio demography service quality accessibility availability and intrinsic extrinsic motivation. The analytical statistics applied for testing the association of factors with the blood donor programme was chi-square test. The study has shown some important findings. There was significant association between income level and donating blood. Only 3.3 of In-house blood donor population was female. Majority of In-house population belonged to 30-41 age group. A statistically significant association exists between age and repeat blood donation. The female blood donors tendency of becoming repeat donors was very low. Distance problem and non

  12. Anger, frustration, boredom and the Department of Motor Vehicles: Can negative emotions impede organ donor registration?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, Jason T; Tan, Cara N; Rosenberg, Benjamin D; Navarro, Mario A; Thomson, Andrew L; Lyrintzis, Elena A; Alvaro, Eusebio M; Jones, Natalie D

    2016-03-01

    The IIFF Model (Information, Immediate and Complete Registration Mechanism, Focused Engagement, Favorable Activation) offers a checklist of considerations for interventions seeking to influence organ donor registration behavior. One aspect of the model, favorable activation, recommends considering the emotional and motivational state of a potential donor registrant. Given that most donor registrations occur at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), we considered whether emotions experienced while at the DMV could influence registration rates. The current research effort investigated the emotions people experience while visiting the DMV, explored whether these emotions are associated with donor registration intentions, and experimentally assessed whether DMV experiences influence donor registration. Three studies were conducted through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. In Study 1, we randomly assigned participants to either recall a prior DMV experience or to a comparison condition. Emotions associated with the recalled experiences were the dependent variable. Study 2 assessed the correlations between nine different emotions and donor registration intentions. Study 3 randomly assigned participants to recall a prior frustrating DMV experience or to a comparison condition. Intention to register to donate was the dependent variable. Study 1 found that recalling a prior DMV experience was associated with more negative and less positive emotions than the comparison condition. Study 2 found that increased levels of negative emotion could be problematic, as negative emotions were associated with decreased donor intentions. Study 3 found that recalling a frustrating DMV experience resulted in significantly lower intentions to register as an organ donor (vs. a control condition). Although not all DMV experiences are negative, these data indicated a relationship between the DMV and negative emotions; an association between negative emotions and lower donor registration intentions

  13. Direct view at colossal permittivity in donor-acceptor (Nb, In) co-doped rutile TiO{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mandal, Suman, E-mail: suman.mandal@sscu.iisc.ernet.in; Pal, Somnath; Hazarika, Abhijit [Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012 (India); Kundu, Asish K.; Menon, Krishnakumar S. R. [Surface Physics and Material Science Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700064 (India); Rioult, Maxime; Belkhou, Rachid [Synchrotron SOLEIL, L' Orme des Merisiers Saint-Aubin, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

    2016-08-29

    Topical observations of colossal permittivity (CP) with low dielectric loss in donor-acceptor cations co-doped rutile TiO{sub 2} have opened up several possibilities in microelectronics and energy-storage devices. Yet, the precise origin of the CP behavior, knowledge of which is essential to empower the device integration suitably, is highly disputed in the literature. From spectromicroscopic approach besides dielectric measurements, we explore that microscopic electronic inhomogeneities along with the nano-scale phase boundaries and the low temperature polaronic relaxation are mostly responsible for such a dielectric behavior, rather than electron-pinned defect-dipoles/grain-boundary effects as usually proposed. Donor-acceptor co-doping results in a controlled carrier-hopping inevitably influencing the dielectric loss while invariably upholding the CP value.

  14. Trends in organ donor management: 2002 to 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callahan, Devon S; Kim, Dennis; Bricker, Scott; Neville, Angela; Putnam, Brant; Smith, Jennifer; Bongard, Frederic; Plurad, David

    2014-10-01

    Refinements in donor management have resulted in increased numbers and quality of grafts after neurologic death. We hypothesize that the increased use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been accompanied by improved outcomes over time. Using the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network donor database, all brain-dead donors procured from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2012 were studied. Hormone replacement therapy was identified by an infusion of thyroid hormone. An expanded criteria donor was defined as age 60 years or older. Incidence of HRT administration and number of donors and organs recovered were calculated. Using the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network thoracic recipient database transplant list, wait times were examined. There were 74,180 brain-dead donors studied. Hormone replacement therapy use increased substantially from 25.6% to 72.3% of donors. However, mean number of organs procured per donor remained static (3.51 to 3.50; p = 0.083), and the rate of high-yield donors decreased (46.4% to 43.1%; p donors decreased (42.1% to 33.9%; p donors (22.1% to 26%). Despite this, there has been an increase in the raw number of donors (20,558 to 24,308; p organs (5,857 to 6,945; p organs per traumatic brain injury donor (4.02 to 4.12; p = 0.002) and a decrease in days on the waiting list (462.2 to 170.4 days; p donors has been accompanied by increased organ availability overall. Potential mechanisms might include successful conversion of previously unacceptable donors and improved recovery in certain subsets of donors. Copyright © 2014 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Economic consequences incurred by living kidney donors: a Canadian multi-center prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klarenbach, S; Gill, J S; Knoll, G; Caulfield, T; Boudville, N; Prasad, G V R; Karpinski, M; Storsley, L; Treleaven, D; Arnold, J; Cuerden, M; Jacobs, P; Garg, A X

    2014-04-01

    Some living kidney donors incur economic consequences as a result of donation; however, these costs are poorly quantified. We developed a framework to comprehensively assess economic consequences from the donor perspective including out-of-pocket cost, lost wages and home productivity loss. We prospectively enrolled 100 living kidney donors from seven Canadian centers between 2004 and 2008 and collected and valued economic consequences ($CAD 2008) at 3 months and 1 year after donation. Almost all (96%) donors experienced economic consequences, with 94% reporting travel costs and 47% reporting lost pay. The average and median costs of lost pay were $2144 (SD 4167) and $0 (25th-75th percentile 0, 2794), respectively. For other expenses (travel, accommodation, medication and medical), mean and median costs were $1780 (SD 2504) and $821 (25th-75th percentile 242, 2271), respectively. From the donor perspective, mean cost was $3268 (SD 4704); one-third of donors incurred cost >$3000, and 15% >$8000. The majority of donors (83%) reported inability to perform usual household activities for an average duration of 33 days; 8% reported out-of-pocket costs for assistance with these activities. The economic impact of living kidney donation for some individuals is large. We advocate for programs to reimburse living donors for their legitimate costs. © 2014 The Authors. American Journal of Transplantation Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  16. Comparison of long-term outcomes between spousal transplants and other living unrelated donor transplants: single-center experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Hye Eun; Song, Joon Chang; Hyoung, Bok Jin; Hwang, Hyeon Seok; Lee, So Young; Jeon, Youn Joo; Park, Sun Cheol; Choi, Bum Soon; Kim, Yong Soo; Moon, In Sung; Yang, Chul Woo

    2009-01-01

    The greater use of living unrelated donors (LUDs) as kidney donors is a worldwide trend in the current era of organ shortage, and spouses are an important source of LUDs. This study was to compare the long-term outcomes of spousal donor grafts with other LUD grafts. Among 445 LUD grafts, 77 were spouses and 368 were other LUDs. The clinical characteristics and long-term survival rates for spousal transplants were compared with those for other LUD transplants, and risk factors affecting graft survival were assessed. Spousal donors had a significantly higher average number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches (4.2 vs. 3.4, p HLA mismatching, the spousal donor type or donor age did not affect the graft survival. Renal transplants from spousal donors show similar long-term outcomes to those from better HLA-matched and younger LUDs. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  17. EVALUASI KESESUAIAN LAHAN UNTUK TANAMAN JAGUNG MENGGUNAKAN METODE ANALISIS SPASIAL Land Suitability Assessment Of Corn (Zea mays L. Using Spasial Analysis Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruslan Wirosoedarmo

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Land suitability assessment was needed to plan productive and sustainable land use. The aim of this research was to de- liver an informative data about land suitability of corn using spatial analysis model. The research was conducted from July 2007 to January 2008, located in Blitar district. The land survey and analysis covered several parameters needed for suitability assessment for corn such as temperature, rainfall, soil drainage, soil texture, pH, effective depth of soil, organic- C, soil content, Cation Exchange Capacity of clay, slope, altitude, and erosion endangered. The land suitability classes were classified into four classes, those were very suitable, suitable, marginally suitable, and not suitable. The data were finally analyzed using Map Calculator in Arc View GIS Software.The results showed that there were three classes of land suitability for corn i.e. very suitable, suitable and marginally suitable which accounted for 85 %, 10 %, and 5 % of 150.96 hectare areas in Blitar. The suitable class mainly located in the northern of Blitar district, while the marginally suitable class mostly located in more than 1200 meters height above sea level covered 10, 117, and 52 hectares area of Wlingi, Gandusari, and Doko county area respectively. ABSTRAK Evaluasi kesesuaian lahan diperlukan untuk perencanaan penggunaan lahan yang produktif dan lestari. Tujuan peneli- tian adalah untuk menyajikan data dan informasi tentang evaluasi kesesuaian lahan bagi tanaman jagung menggunakan model analisa spasial. Penelitian dilaksanakan mulai bulan Juli 2007 sampai bulan Januari 2008. Lokasi penelitian dilaksanakan di Blitar, Jawa Timur. Data yang diperlukan meliputi data spasial berupa peta kontur dan peta jenis tanah skala 1:25000 serta data atribut berupa data klimatologi wilayah dan hasil pengamatan lapangan terhadap sifat fisik, morfologi dan kimia tanah. Parameter kesesuaian untuk tanaman jagung yang ditetapkan meliputi temperatur, curah hujan

  18. Suitability assessment and mapping of Oyo State, Nigeria, for rice cultivation using GIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayoade, Modupe Alake

    2017-08-01

    Rice is one of the most preferred food crops in Nigeria. However, local rice production has declined with the oil boom of the 1970s causing demand to outstrip supply. Rice production can be increased through the integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and crop-land suitability analysis and mapping. Based on the key predictor variables that determine rice yield mentioned in relevant literature, data on rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, slope, and soil of Oyo state were obtained. To develop rice suitability maps for the state, two MCE-GIS techniques, namely the Overlay approach and weighted linear combination (WLC), using fuzzy AHP were used and compared. A Boolean land use map derived from a landsat imagery was used in masking out areas currently unavailable for rice production. Both suitability maps were classified into four categories of very suitable, suitable, moderate, and fairly moderate. Although the maps differ slightly, the overlay and WLC (AHP) approach found most parts of Oyo state (51.79 and 82.9 % respectively) to be moderately suitable for rice production. However, in areas like Eruwa, Oyo, and Shaki, rainfall amount received needs to be supplemented by irrigation for increased rice yield.

  19. Living related donor liver transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, C L; Chen, Y S; Liu, P P; Chiang, Y C; Cheng, Y F; Huang, T L; Eng, H L

    1997-10-01

    Living related liver transplantation (LRLT) has been developed in response to the paediatric organ donor shortage. According to the International Living Donor Registry, 521 transplants had been performed in 515 patients between December 8 1988 and January 19 1996 in 30 centres worldwide. The overall actuarial patient and graft survival rates were 82.7 and 80%, respectively. Between June 17 1994 and November 30 1996, the authors performed 11 LRLT at the Chung Gung Memorial Hospital. The living donors consisted of 10 mothers and one father. The mean graft weight was 303 g and the mean graft recipient weight ratio was 2.2%. Donor hepatectomy was performed without vascular inflow occlusion. The intra-operative blood loss ranged from 30 mL to 120 mL with an average of 61 mL, and blood transfusion was not required in all donors both intra-operatively and during the postoperative period. Underlying diseases of the recipients were biliary atresia (n = 10) and glycogen storage disease (n = 1). The mean graft cold ischaemia time was 106 min, the mean second warm ischaemia time was 51 min and the mean interval between portal and arterial reperfusion was 81 min. The initial LRLT results were promising with all donors having been discharged without complication. The recipients experienced a few complications, all of which were manageable with early intervention. All 11 recipients are alive and well. These are encouraging results and the authors hope to expand the use of live donors for liver transplantation to cope with demand.

  20. Differences in Medication Adherence between Living and Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denhaerynck, K; Schmid-Mohler, G; Kiss, A; Steiger, J; Wüthrich, R P; Bock, A; De Geest, S

    2014-01-01

    Literature review suggests that adherence to immunosuppressive drugs may be lower in recipients of living than of deceased donor kidney grafts, possibly because of profile differences. To compare the level of immunosuppressive adherence levels between patients with deceased and living (-related; -unrelated) donor grafts in Switzerland. Using data from two similar cross-sectional studies at two transplant centers in Switzerland, the level of adherence between the two groups was compared. Medication adherence was assessed by self-report or electronic monitoring. Possible explanatory factors included age, beliefs regarding immunosuppressive drugs, depressive symptomatology, pre-emptive transplantation, and the number of transplants received, were also considered. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Unadjusted non-adherence odds were 2 to 3 times higher in living-related than deceased donor transplantation (ORs: 2.09-3.05; padherence in recipients of living-related donor kidneys, possibly owing to differences in patient profile (ie, health beliefs regarding their immunosuppressive needs), knowledge of which may enhance adherence if addressed.

  1. Why search for a sperm donor online? The experiences of women searching for and contacting sperm donors on the internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadva, Vasanti; Freeman, Tabitha; Tranfield, Erika; Golombok, Susan

    2018-06-01

    Whilst studies have examined the experiences of women who use clinic donors, to date there has been limited research investigating women's motivations and experiences of searching for a sperm donor online. A total of 429 women looking for a sperm donor on Pride Angel (a website that facilitates contact between donors and recipients) completed an online survey. Fifty-eight percent (249) saw advantages of obtaining donated sperm online with the most common advantage reported as being able to connect with and meet the donor (n = 50 (24%)). A third (n = 157 (37%)) of the participants gave disadvantages, the most common reported was encountering 'dishonest donors' (n = 63 (40%)). Most recipients (n = 181 (61%)) wanted the donor to be 'just a donor' (i.e. to provide sperm and have no further contact). Whilst it was important for recipients to know the identity of the donor, some did not see this as important for the child and thus the level of information that parents have about the donor, and that which the child has, can differ. Finding a donor online blurs the distinction between categories of 'anonymous', 'known' and 'identity release' donations. Whilst the survey had a large sample size, the representativeness of the sample is not known.

  2. Analysis of adverse events and predisposing factors in voluntary and replacement whole blood donors: A study from north India

    OpenAIRE

    Agnihotri, Naveen; Marwaha, Neelam; Sharma, Ratti R.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Lack of awareness and community motivation, compounded with fragmented blood transfusion services in our country, Often leads to shortage of blood. Donor recruitment and retention are essential for ensuring adequate blood supply. However, adverse events (AEs) in donors have a negative impact on donor return. Aims and Objectives: The present study was aimed to assess the frequency of AEs in whole blood donors and analyze the predisposing factors for AEs. Material and Methods: The s...

  3. Platelet function in whole-blood donors is impaired: the effects of painkillers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curvers, Joyce; Dielis, Arne W J H; Heeremans, Judith; van Wersch, Jan W J

    2007-01-01

    Aspirin (ASA) or non-aspirin-like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) influence platelet (PLT) function by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzymes. In this study, the aim was to address the use of ASA or NSAIDs before donation and the effect on PLT function. Donors were asked questions about recent use of ASA or NSAIDs. Furthermore, PLT function was evaluated by measurement of the closure time (CT) in a PLT function analyzer (PFA-100, Dade Behring) and by aggregometry (response to ADP or arachidonic acid [AA]). Of 100 questioned donors, 22 percent had used ASA (n = 4), NSAIDs (n = 6), or paracetamol (n = 12) before donation. Upon assessment of the PLT function in the PFA-100, 27 donors showed values of greater than 180 seconds, indicative of impaired PLT function. Of these, only 7 had used pain killers before donation. Furthermore, 15 of 22 users had normal CTs. Aggregation after stimulation with AA was absent in 33 PLT-rich samples. Again only 8 had reported use of ASA (3), NSAIDs (1), or paracetamol (4). Of the 22 users, 14 had normal AA aggregation responses. All donor samples showed ADP-induced aggregation, indicating PLT integrity. There was no difference between the group of donors who reported the intake of ASA or NSAIDs and the group of donors who did not with respect to the tested PLT function assays. It is concluded that there is a considerable group of donors that use PLT-influencing medication before donation. A relation between the reported use and impaired PLT function in blood donors could not be established, however. Impaired PLT function as tested may have other causes than intake of ASA or NSAIDs.

  4. Forest Carbon Leakage Quantification Methods and Their Suitability for Assessing Leakage in REDD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Henders

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses quantification methods for carbon leakage from forestry activities for their suitability in leakage accounting in a future Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD mechanism. To that end, we first conducted a literature review to identify specific pre-requisites for leakage assessment in REDD. We then analyzed a total of 34 quantification methods for leakage emissions from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS, the Climate Action Reserve (CAR, the CarbonFix Standard (CFS, and from scientific literature sources. We screened these methods for the leakage aspects they address in terms of leakage type, tools used for quantification and the geographical scale covered. Results show that leakage methods can be grouped into nine main methodological approaches, six of which could fulfill the recommended REDD leakage requirements if approaches for primary and secondary leakage are combined. The majority of methods assessed, address either primary or secondary leakage; the former mostly on a local or regional and the latter on national scale. The VCS is found to be the only carbon accounting standard at present to fulfill all leakage quantification requisites in REDD. However, a lack of accounting methods was identified for international leakage, which was addressed by only two methods, both from scientific literature.

  5. Beware Cold Agglutinins in Organ Donors! Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion From an Uncontrolled Donation After Circulatory-Determination-of-Death Donor With a Cold Agglutinin: A Case Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkataraman, A; Blackwell, J W; Funkhouser, W K; Birchard, K R; Beamer, S E; Simmons, W T; Randell, S H; Egan, T M

    2017-09-01

    We began to recover lungs from uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death to assess for transplant suitability by means of ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) and computerized tomographic (CT) scan. Our first case had a cold agglutinin with an interesting outcome. A 60-year-old man collapsed at home and was pronounced dead by Emergency Medical Services personnel. Next-of-kin consented to lung retrieval, and the decedent was ventilated and transported. Lungs were flushed with cold Perfadex, removed, and stored cold. The lungs did not flush well. Medical history revealed a recent hemolytic anemia and a known cold agglutinin. Warm nonventilated ischemia time was 51 minutes. O 2 -ventilated ischemia time was 141 minutes. Total cold ischemia time was 6.5 hours. At cannulation for EVLP, established clots were retrieved from both pulmonary arteries. At initiation of EVLP with Steen solution, tiny red aggregates were observed initially. With warming, the aggregates disappeared and the perfusate became red. After 1 hour, EVLP was stopped because of florid pulmonary edema. The lungs were cooled to 20°C; tiny red aggregates formed again in the perfusate. Ex vivo CT scan showed areas of pulmonary edema and a pyramidal right middle lobe opacity. Dissection showed multiple pulmonary emboli-the likely cause of death. However, histology showed agglutinated red blood cells in the microvasculature in pre- and post-EVLP biopsies, which may have contributed to inadequate parenchymal preservation. Organ donors with cold agglutinins may not be suitable owing to the impact of hypothermic preservation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. On the effect of nuclear bridge modes on donor-acceptor electronic coupling in donor-bridge-acceptor molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, Daly; Toroker, Maytal Caspary; Speiser, Shammai; Peskin, Uri

    2009-01-01

    We report a theoretical study of intra-molecular electronic coupling in a symmetric DBA (donor-bridge-acceptor) complex, in which a donor electronic site is coupled to an acceptor site by way of intervening orbitals of a molecular bridge unit. In the off-resonant (deep tunneling) regime of electronic transport, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (MO's) of the DBA system are split into distinguishable donor/acceptor and bridge orbitals. The effect of geometrical changes at the bridge on the donor/acceptor electronic energy manifold is studied for local stretching and bending modes. It is demonstrated that the energy splitting in the manifold of donor/acceptor unoccupied MOs changes in response to such changes, as assumed in simple McConnell-type models. Limitations of the simple models are revealed where the electronic charging of the bridge orbitals correlates with increasing donor/acceptor orbital energy splitting only for stretching but not for bending bridge modes.

  7. Liver transplantation from maastricht category 2 non-heart-beating donors: a source to increase the donor pool?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otero, A; Gómez-Gutiérrez, M; Suárez, F; Arnal, F; Fernández-García, A; Aguirrezabalaga, J; García-Buitrón, J; Alvarez, J; Máñez, R

    2004-04-01

    The demand for liver transplantation has increasingly exceeded the supply of cadaver donor organs. Non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) may be an alternative to increase the cadaver donor pool. The outcome of 20 liver transplants from Maastricht category 2 NHBD was compared with that of 40 liver transplants from heart-beating donors (HBDs). After unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), cardiopulmonary support with simultaneous application of chest and abdominal compression (CPS; n = 6) or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB; n = 14) was used to maintain the donors. At a minimum follow-up of 2 years, actuarial patient and graft survival rates with livers from Maastricht category 2 NHBD were 80% and 55%, respectively. Transplantation of organs from these donors was associated with a significantly higher incidence of primary nonfunction, biliary complications, and more severe initial liver dysfunction compared with organs from HBDs. The graft survival rates was 83% for livers from NHBDs preserved with CPS and 42% in those maintained with CPB.

  8. Blood donor haematology parameters in two regions of Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: To determine the status of blood donor haematology in two regional sites in Kenya and to assess the potential role of automated haematology in National blood bank process control. Design: A cross sectional descriptive study. Setting: Two regional blood banks - Nairobi and its environs (Blood Transfusion ...

  9. Suitability of Varicose Veins for Endovenous Treatments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goode, S. D.; Kuhan, G.; Altaf, N.; Simpson, R.; Beech, A.; Richards, T.; MacSweeney, S. T.; Braithwaite, B. D.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the suitability of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), and foam sclerotherapy (FS) for patients with symptomatic varicose veins (VVs). The study comprised 403 consecutive patients with symptomatic VVs. Data on 577 legs from 403 consecutive patients with symptomatic VVs were collected for the year 2006. Median patient age was 55 years (interquartile range 45-66), and 62% patients were women. A set of criteria based on duplex ultrasonography was used to select patients for each procedure. Great saphenous vein (GSV) reflux was present in 77% (446 of 577) of legs. Overall, 328 (73%) of the legs were suitable for at least one of the endovenous options. Of the 114 legs with recurrent GSV reflux disease, 83 (73%) were suitable to receive endovenous therapy. Patients with increasing age were less likely to be suitable for endovenous therapy (P = 0.03). Seventy-three percent of patients with VVs caused by GSV incompetence are suitable for endovenous therapy.

  10. Concern for Lost Income Following Donation Deters Some Patients From Talking to Potential Living Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigue, James R; Schold, Jesse D; Mandelbrot, Didier A; Taber, David J; Phan, Van; Baliga, Prabhakar K

    2016-12-01

    Some living kidney donors report lost income during recovery from surgery. Little is known about whether concern for living donor's lost income affects the decision to undergo donation evaluation and the willingness of transplant candidates to discuss living kidney donation (LKD) with others. To examine whether transplant patients were told by potential donors about lost income concerns and whether patients chose not to discuss LKD with others due to lost income concerns. Kidney transplant patients (185 wait-listed candidates, 171 deceased donor recipients, and 100 live donor recipients) at 2 centers completed a questionnaire to assess whether concern about donor's lost income was a consideration in discussion about LKD with others. One-third (32%) were told by a family member/friend that they were willing to donate but were concerned about potential lost income. The majority of those who expressed financial concern (64%) did not initiate donation evaluation. Many patients (42%) chose not to discuss living donation with a family member/friend due to concern about the impact of lost income on the donor. In the multivariable model, lower annual household income was the only statistically significant predictor of both having a potential donor expressing lost income concern and choosing not to talk to someone because of lost income concern. Findings from the current study underscore how concern about income loss for living donors may affect decision-making by both transplant candidates and potential donors.

  11. [Lack of knowledge among blood donors in Burkina Faso (West Africa); potential obstacle to transfusion security].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nébié, K Y; Olinger, C M; Kafando, E; Dahourou, H; Diallo, S; Kientega, Y; Domo, Y; Kienou, K; Ouattara, S; Sawadogo, I; Ky, L; Muller, C P

    2007-11-01

    The measures recommended to reduce TTD include clinical selection of donors, based on a standardized questionnaire which aims to find out antecedents and behaviours predicting transmitted diseases within donors. The effectiveness of this measure is well established in the industrialized countries where the level of education of the population may support a greater receptivity of donors about this procedure. What is happening in developing one? This study was carried out to assess knowledge attitude and behaviours among blood donors regarding blood and transfusion safety in Burkina Faso. A cross sectional study was carried out in the blood bank of the teaching hospital of Ouagadougou. In addition to the routine questionnaire, 544 included blood donors were subjected to additional questions seeking to specify their behaviours, knowledge and attitude towards TTD diseases and screening. Donors were from 16 to 57 years of age (mean age : 28+/-7.9 years). The majority of donors were male (71.2%). Family donors represent 52% and first time donors 55%. About 30.8% were illiterate or of primary school level. A percentage of 14.4 donate to access HIV testing and 30.7% will donate blood immediately to check any contamination in case of exposure. There was no difference between donors having been informed about their HIV status in the past and the other donors regarding HIV, HBs Ag and VHC results. This study suggests that there is some great need for donors' education on transfusion safety. There is also need for staff training in donors' management.

  12. The healthy donor effect impacts self-reported physical and mental health - results from the Danish Blood Donor Study (DBDS)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rigas, A S; Skytthe, A; Erikstrup, C

    2017-01-01

    AIMS: This study aimed at quantifying the healthy donor effect by comparing self-perceived mental and physical health between blood donors and non-donors. BACKGROUND: In theory, the selection process known as the healthy donor effect should result in better self-perceived, health-related quality...... of life in donors than in non-donors. METHODS: The Short Form-12 data from the Danish Twin Registry (DTR) was compared with the data from the Danish Blood Donor Study (DBDS). Data on age, sex and smoking status were included in the analyses. The multivariable linear regression analysis was stratified......-perceived mental health was associated with a blood donor. With the increase in age, better self-perceived physical health was associated with blood donation....

  13. Predonation psychosocial evaluation of living kidney and liver donor candidates: a systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duerinckx, Nathalie; Timmerman, Lotte; Van Gogh, Johan; van Busschbach, Jan; Ismail, Sohal Y; Massey, Emma K; Dobbels, Fabienne

    2014-01-01

    Evaluating a person's suitability for living organ donation is crucial, consisting not only of a medical but also of a thorough psychosocial screening. We performed a systematic literature review of guidelines, consensus statements, and protocols on the content and process of psychosocial screening of living kidney and liver donor candidates. We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO until June 22, 2011, following the PRISMA guidelines, complemented by scrutinizing guidelines databases and references of identified publications. Thirty-four publications were identified, including seven guidelines, six consensus statements, and 21 protocols or programs. Guidelines and consensus statements were inconsistent and lacked concreteness for both their content and process, possibly explaining the observed variability in center-specific evaluation protocols and programs. Overall, recommended screening criteria are not evidence-based and an operational definition of the concept "psychosocial" is missing, causing heterogeneity in terminology. Variation also exists on methods used to psychosocially evaluate potential donors. The scientific basis of predonation psychosocial evaluation needs to be strengthened. There is a need for high-quality prospective psychosocial outcome studies in living donors, a uniform terminology to label psychosocial screening criteria, and validated instruments to identify risk factors. © 2013 Steunstichting ESOT. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Secrets and disclosure in donor conception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frith, Lucy; Blyth, Eric; Crawshaw, Marilyn; van den Akker, Olga

    2018-01-01

    This article considers the disclosure, sharing and exchange of information on being donor conceived within families, drawing on data from a study undertaken with donor-conceived adults registered with UK Donor Link (a voluntary DNA-linking register). This paper considers the narratives of how respondents found out they were donor-conceived and what events triggered disclosure of this information. This paper then goes on to examine the role secrecy played in their family life and uses the concept of 'display' to explore how secrecy affected their relationships with their immediate and extended family. Secrets are notoriously 'leaky' and we found complex patterns of knowing and uncertainty about whom in the family knew that the person was donor-conceived. We argue that what is kept secret and from whom provides insights into the multifaceted web of social relationships that can be created by donor-conception, and how knowledge can be managed and controlled in attempts to display and maintain family narratives of biogenetic connection. © 2017 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  15. Extended criteria donor kidney transplantation: comparative outcome analysis between single versus double kidney transplantation at 5 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucarelli, G; Bettocchi, C; Battaglia, M; Impedovo, S V; Vavallo, A; Grandaliano, G; Castellano, G; Schena, F P; Selvaggi, F P; Ditonno, P

    2010-05-01

    Dual kidney transplantation (DKT), using extended criteria donor (ECD) grafts not suitable for single kidney transplantation (SKT), has been suggested to expand the kidney donor pool. Herein, we reviewed the long-term outcomes of DKT to assess its results versus a control group of 179 ECD SKTs. The allocation policy was based on a Remuzzi score obtained from a pretransplant biopsy. We analyzed SKT in 179 (31.8%) and DKT in 41 (7.3%) of 563 cadaveric transplants from 2000 to 2008. Patients with DKT versus SKT showed mean recipient ages of 54 versus 51 years. We performed 17 ipsilateral and 24 bilateral DKT. The mean score was 2.78 for SKT and 4.3/4.6 for DKT. Delayed graft function requiring dialysis occurred in 23 (56.1%) DKT and 70 (39.1%) SKT recipients. Primary nonfunction was observed in 1 (2.4%) DKT and 7 (3.9%) SKT recipients respectively. One DKT patient underwent monolateral transplantectomy. In the DKT versus SKT group, patient survivals were 92% versus 95%, 89% versus 93%, and 89 versus 91% at 12, 36, and 60 months, respectively (P = .3). Graft survivals were 100% versus 94%, 95% versus 90%, and 89% versus 78% at 12, 36, and 60 months, respectively (P DKT. ECD graft survival using DKT provided better results compared with SKT, despite the use of organs from higher-risk donors. At 5 years follow-up, DKT was a safe strategy to face the organ shortage. To optimize the use of available kidneys, the criteria for DKT require further refinement and standardization. Preimplantation evaluation must maximize transplant success and protect recipients from receiving organs at increased risk of premature failure. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Organ donors: deceased or alive? Quo vadis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozental, R

    2006-01-01

    Irrespectively of universal shortage of donor organs there is a tendency of increasing the number of transplantations from living and deceased donors. Each of these two methods has positive and negative features. The main obstacles using living donors are health hazard, necessity to solve certain donor's social and psychological problems, possibility of organ trade and moving. The main problems connected with organ retrieval from deceased donors are possible conflicts with public opinion: difficulties in interpretation of brain death, legislation, obtaining of informed consent from donor's relatives, etc. Future progress in organ transplantation may take place through activation of organ retrieval from deceased donors. The most perspective ways are change to presumed consent in all countries, establishing of centralized system of donor detection and registration, intensification of transplant coordination, active contacts with mass-media, etc. It is necessary to increase (enhance) participation of the members of the public in organ donation process, to develop solidarity among the public members and to involve public authorities to deal with this problem. Bioethical standards should be put in accordance with common progress and some ethical traditions should be changed.

  17. Clinical and Biochemical Characteristics of Brain-Dead Donors as Predictors of Early- and Long-Term Renal Function After Transplant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwiatkowska, Ewa; Domański, Leszek; Bober, Joanna; Safranow, Krzysztof; Pawlik, Andrzej; Ciechanowski, Kazimierz; Wiśniewska, Magda; Kędzierska, Karolina

    2017-08-01

    Organs from brain-dead donors are the main source of allografts for transplant. Comparisons between living-donor and brain-dead donor kidneys show that the latter are more likely to demonstrate delayed graft function and lower long-term survival. This study aimed to assess the effects of various clinical and biochemical factors of donors on early- and long-term renal function after transplant. We analyzed data from kidney recipients treated between 2006 and 2008 who received organs from brain-dead donors. Data from 54 donors and 89 recipients were analyzed. No relation was observed between donor sodium concentration and the presence of delayed graft function. Donor height was positively correlated with creatinine clearance in recipients in the 1 to 3 months after renal transplant. Donor diastolic blood pressure was negatively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate throughout the observation period. Donor age was negatively correlated with the allograft recipient's estimated glomerular filtration rate throughout 4 years of observation. Donor estimated glomerular filtration rate was positively correlated with that of the recipient throughout 3 years of observation. The results of this study indicate that various factors associated with allograft donors may influence graft function.

  18. Oocyte cryopreservation for donor egg banking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobo, Ana; Remohí, José; Chang, Ching-Chien; Nagy, Zsolt Peter

    2011-09-01

    Oocyte donation is an efficient alternative to using own oocytes in IVF treatment for different indications. Unfortunately, 'traditional' (fresh) egg donations are challenged with inefficiency, difficulties of synchronization, very long waiting periods and lack of quarantine measures. Given the recent improvements in the efficiency of oocyte cryopreservation, it is reasonable to examine if egg donation through oocyte cryopreservation has merits. The objective of the current manuscript is to review existing literature on this topic and to report on the most recent outcomes from two established donor cryobank centres. Reports on egg donation using slow freezing are scarce and though results are encouraging, outcomes are not yet comparable to a fresh egg donation treatment. Vitrification on the other hand appears to provide high survival rates (90%) of donor oocytes and comparable fertilization, embryo development, implantation and pregnancy rates to traditional (fresh) egg donation. Besides the excellent outcomes, the ease of use for both donors and recipients, higher efficiency, lower cost and avoiding the problem of synchronization are all features associated with the benefit of a donor egg cryobank and makes it likely that this approach becomes the future standard of care. Oocyte donation is one of the last resorts in IVF treatment for couples challenged with infertility problems. However, traditional (fresh) egg donation, as it is performed today, is not very efficient, as typically all eggs from one donor are given to only one recipient, it is arduous as it requires an excellent synchronization between the donor and recipient and there are months or years of waiting time. Because of the development of an efficient oocyte cryopreservation technique, it is now possible to cryo-store donor (as well as non-donor) eggs, maintaining their viability and allowing their use whenever there is demand. Therefore, creating a donor oocyte cryobank would carry many advantages

  19. The value of MR cholangiography in preoperative evaluation of biliary anatomy of living liver donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Zhefeng; Zhou Min; Peng Zhiyi

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To determine the value of MR cholangiography(MRC) in the preoperative evaluation of biliary anatomy of living liver donors. Methods: Fifty eight consecutive donors underwent MRC examinations and living liver transplantation. MRC was performed on a 1.5 T scanner with breath-hold rapid acquisition of T 2 WI slab and breathing-gating 3D FSE T 2 WI. Images of MRC and IOC were compared and classified according to the modified Huang's classification. Results: Thirty four (58.6%) liver donors showed normal biliary anatomy on IOC, and 24 (41.4%) donors revealed variant bile anatomy. MRC correctly depicted biliary anatomy in 91.4% (53/58) donors. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MRC in distinguishing normal and different types of variant biliary anatomy were 83.3% (20/24), 100% (34/34), 100% (20/20), 89.5% (34/38) respectively. Conclusion: MRC can accurately assess the biliary anatomy in living liver donors and may guide the preoperative planning of liver transplant. (authors)

  20. Laparoscopic versus open nephrectomy for live kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Colin H; Sanni, Aliu; Rix, David A; Soomro, Naeem A

    2011-11-09

    Waiting lists for kidney transplantation continue to grow and live organ donation has become more important as the number of brain stem dead cadaveric organ donors continues to fall. The major disincentive to potential kidney donors is the pain and morbidity associated with open surgery. To identify the benefits and harms of using laparoscopic compared to open nephrectomy techniques to recover kidneys from live organ donors. We searched the online databases CENTRAL (in The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 2), MEDLINE (January 1966 to January 2010) and EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2010) and handsearched textbooks and reference lists. Randomised controlled trials comparing laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) with open donor nephrectomy (ODN). Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts for eligibility, assessed study quality, and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information where necessary. Six studies were identified that randomised 596 live kidney donors to either LDN or ODN arms. All studies were assessed as having low or unclear risk of bias for selection bias, allocation bias, incomplete outcome data and selective reporting bias. Four of six studies had high risk of bias for blinding. Various different combinations of techniques were used in each study, resulting in heterogeneity in the results. The conversion rate from LDN to ODN ranged from 1% to 1.8%. LDN was generally found to be associated with reduced analgesia use, shorter hospital stay, and faster return to normal physical functioning. The extracted kidney was exposed to longer warm ischaemia periods (2 to 17 minutes) with no associated short-term consequences. ODN was associated with shorter duration of procedure. For those outcomes that could be meta-analysed there were no significant differences between LDN or ODN for perioperative complications (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.47 to 4.59), reoperations (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.09 to 3.64), early graft loss (RR 0.31, 95% CI 0

  1. Factors Determining Physical and Mental Quality of Life of Living Kidney Donors in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, K-H; Yeh, L-C; Huang, H-L; Chiang, Y-J; Lin, M-H; Hsieh, C-Y; Weng, L-C

    2016-04-01

    Living-donor kidney transplantation has a positive influence on recipients' life expectancy and improves quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease compared with dialysis patients. Evaluation of the physical and mental quality of life for donors can promote positive perceptions about donation and help potential donors in their decision-making process. The aim of this study was to explore the predictive factors of quality of life for living kidney donors. A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used, and the study was conducted from January to July 2013. The donors were a convenience sample of 34 participants who had undergone kidney transplant surgery >1 year earlier. The results showed that kidney donors had a low to moderate physical and mental quality of life. Multiple regression analysis revealed that financial concerns and anxiety explained 27.8% of the total variance of quality of life in the physical component. Anxiety and paid work explained 61.4% of the total variance of quality of life in the mental component. After renal transplantation, living kidney donors experienced low to moderate quality of life. Because donors are family members (siblings, sons or daughters, spouses, or parents), monthly family income is a significant issue that influences both the decision to donate and quality of life after transplantation. Our findings suggest that pre-transplantation assessment must include social workers as part of the health care team to evaluate the impact of a donor's financial status on post-transplantation quality of life. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Smartphone-based distributed data collection enables rapid assessment of shorebird habitat suitability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thieler, E. Robert; Zeigler, Sara; Winslow, Luke; Hines, Megan K.; Read, Jordan S.; Walker, Jordan I.

    2016-01-01

    Understanding and managing dynamic coastal landscapes for beach-dependent species requires biological and geological data across the range of relevant environments and habitats. It is difficult to acquire such information; data often have limited focus due to resource constraints, are collected by non-specialists, or lack observational uniformity. We developed an open-source smartphone application called iPlover that addresses these difficulties in collecting biogeomorphic information at piping plover (Charadrius melodus) nest sites on coastal beaches. This paper describes iPlover development and evaluates data quality and utility following two years of collection (n = 1799 data points over 1500 km of coast between Maine and North Carolina, USA). We found strong agreement between field user and expert assessments and high model skill when data were used for habitat suitability prediction. Methods used here to develop and deploy a distributed data collection system have broad applicability to interdisciplinary environmental monitoring and modeling.

  3. Development and management of a radon assessment strategy suitable for underground railway tunnelling projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purnell, C. J.; Frommer, G.; Chan, K.; Auch, A. A.

    2004-01-01

    The construction of underground tunnels through radon-bearing rock poses a radiation health risk to tunnelling workers from exposure to radon gas and its radioactive decay products. This paper presents the development and practical application of a radon assessment strategy suitable for the measurement of radon in tunnelling work environments in Hong Kong. The assessment strategy was successfully evaluated on a number of underground railway tunnelling projects over a 3 y period. Radon measurements were undertaken using a combination of portable radon measurement equipment and track etch detectors (TEDs) deployed throughout the tunnels. The radon gas monitoring results were used to confirm that ventilation rates were adequate or identified, at an early stage, when further action to reduce radon levels was required. Exposure dose estimates based on the TED results showed that the exposure of tunnel workers to radon did not exceed 3 mSv per annum for the duration of each project. (authors)

  4. Donor transplant programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abu Bakar Sulaiman

    1999-01-01

    The transplantation of organs and tissues from one human to another human has become an essential and well established form of therapy for many types of organ and tissue failure. In Malaysia, kidney, cornea and bone marrow transplantation are well established. Recently, liver, bone and heart transplanation have been performed. Unfortunately, because of the lack of cadaveric organ donation, only a limited number of solid organ transplantation have been performed. The cadaveric organ donor rate in Malaysia is low at less than one per million population. The first tissue transplanted in Malaysia was the cornea which was performed in the early 1970s. At that time and even now the majority of corneas came from Sri Lanka. The first kidney transplant was performed in 1975 from a live related donor. The majority of the 629 kidney transplants done at Hospital Kuala Lumpur to date have been from live related donors. Only 35 were from cadaver donors. Similarly, the liver transplantation programme which started in 1995 are from live related donors. A more concerted effort has been made recently to increase the awareness of the public and the health professionals on organ and tissue donation. This national effort to promote organ and tissue donation seems to have gathered momentum in 1997 with the first heart transplant successfully performed at the National Heart Institute. The rate of cadaveric donors has also increased from a previous average of I to 2 per year to 6 per year in the last one year. These developments are most encouraging and may signal the coming of age of our transplantati on programme. The Ministry of Health in conjunction with various institutions, organizations and professional groups, have taken a number of proactive measures to facilitate the development of the cadaveric organ donation programme. Efforts to increase public awareness and to overcome the negative cultural attitude towards organ donation have been intensified. Equally important are efforts

  5. Influence of hypernatremia and polyuria of brain-dead donors before organ procurement on kidney allograft function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazemeyni, Seyed Mohammad; Esfahani, Fatemah

    2008-01-01

    Polyuria and hypernatremia are common problems during the pretransplant care of brain-dead donors. They have not only important role in hemodynamic stability, but also may influence organ transplantation outcomes. The influence of donor hypernatremia in liver transplantation was reported. This study aimed to determine these effects on kidney allograft. We retrospectively studied on 57 transplanted kidney allografts from cadaveric donors. The effects of the urine output volume and serum level of sodium of the donors were on the recipients' serum creatinine levels 1 week after transplantation and at the last follow-up visit were assessed. Of the donors, 58% had polyuria and 45% had hypernatremia. The median pretransplant urine output of the donors was 130 mL/h (range, 35 mL/h to 450 mL/h), and their mean serum sodium level was 152.0 +/- 13.0 mEq/L. Serum creatinine concentrations in the recipients at the 1st posttransplant week correlated significantly with the recipients' age (r = 0.355, P = .02) and the donors' urine output volume (r = 0.329, P = .04). The serum creatinine measured in the last follow-up visit significantly correlated only with the donors' serum sodium levels (r = 0.316, P = .02) and the donors' age (r = 0.306, P = .02). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the donors' serum levels of sodium and potassium were the predictors of the last measured serum creatinine level. Polyuria and hypernatremia in brain-dead donors are frequent. Elevated serum level of sodium and polyuria in the donor can have adverse effects on kidney allograft function.

  6. Assessment of the suitability of different random number generators for Monte Carlo simulations in gamma-ray spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cornejo Diaz, N.; Vergara Gil, A.; Jurado Vargas, M.

    2010-01-01

    The Monte Carlo method has become a valuable numerical laboratory framework in which to simulate complex physical systems. It is based on the generation of pseudo-random number sequences by numerical algorithms called random generators. In this work we assessed the suitability of different well-known random number generators for the simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems during efficiency calibrations. The assessment was carried out in two stages. The generators considered (Delphi's linear congruential, mersenne twister, XorShift, multiplier with carry, universal virtual array, and non-periodic logistic map based generator) were first evaluated with different statistical empirical tests, including moments, correlations, uniformity, independence of terms and the DIEHARD battery of tests. In a second step, an application-specific test was conducted by implementing the generators in our Monte Carlo program DETEFF and comparing the results obtained with them. The calculations were performed with two different CPUs, for a typical HpGe detector and a water sample in Marinelli geometry, with gamma-rays between 59 and 1800 keV. For the Non-periodic Logistic Map based generator, dependence of the most significant bits was evident. This explains the bias, in excess of 5%, of the efficiency values obtained with this generator. The results of the application-specific assessment and the statistical performance of the other algorithms studied indicate their suitability for the Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems for efficiency calculations.

  7. Assessment of the suitability of different random number generators for Monte Carlo simulations in gamma-ray spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz, N Cornejo; Gil, A Vergara; Vargas, M Jurado

    2010-03-01

    The Monte Carlo method has become a valuable numerical laboratory framework in which to simulate complex physical systems. It is based on the generation of pseudo-random number sequences by numerical algorithms called random generators. In this work we assessed the suitability of different well-known random number generators for the simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems during efficiency calibrations. The assessment was carried out in two stages. The generators considered (Delphi's linear congruential, mersenne twister, XorShift, multiplier with carry, universal virtual array, and non-periodic logistic map based generator) were first evaluated with different statistical empirical tests, including moments, correlations, uniformity, independence of terms and the DIEHARD battery of tests. In a second step, an application-specific test was conducted by implementing the generators in our Monte Carlo program DETEFF and comparing the results obtained with them. The calculations were performed with two different CPUs, for a typical HpGe detector and a water sample in Marinelli geometry, with gamma-rays between 59 and 1800 keV. For the Non-periodic Logistic Map based generator, dependence of the most significant bits was evident. This explains the bias, in excess of 5%, of the efficiency values obtained with this generator. The results of the application-specific assessment and the statistical performance of the other algorithms studied indicate their suitability for the Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems for efficiency calculations. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Suitability assessment of grey water quality treated with an upflow-downflow siliceous sand/marble waste filtration system for agricultural and industrial purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaabane, Safa; Riahi, Khalifa; Hamrouni, Hédi; Thayer, Béchir Ben

    2017-04-01

    The present study examines the suitability assessment of an upflow-downflow siliceous sand/marble waste filtration system for treatment and reuse of grey water collected from bathrooms of the student residential complex at the Higher Institute of Engineering Medjez El Bab (Tunisia). Once the optimization of grey water pre-treatment system has been determined, the filtration system was operated at different hydraulic loading rate and media filter proportions in order to assess the suitability of treated grey water for irrigational purpose according to salinity hazard, sodium hazard, magnesium hazard, permeability index, water infiltration rate, and widely used graphical methods. Suitability of the treated grey water for industrial purpose was evaluated in terms of foaming, corrosion, and scaling. Under optimal operational conditions, results reveals that treated grey water samples with an upflow-downflow siliceous sand/marble waste filtration system may be considered as a good and an excellent water quality suitable for irrigation purpose. However, treated grey water was found not appropriate for industrial purpose due to high concentrations of calcium and sodium that can generate foaming and scaling harm to boilers. These results suggest that treated grey water with an upflow-downflow siliceous sand/marble waste filtration system would support production when used as irrigation water.

  9. Abnormalities in biomarkers of mineral and bone metabolism in kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasiske, Bertram L; Kumar, Rajiv; Kimmel, Paul L; Pesavento, Todd E; Kalil, Roberto S; Kraus, Edward S; Rabb, Hamid; Posselt, Andrew M; Anderson-Haag, Teresa L; Steffes, Michael W; Israni, Ajay K; Snyder, Jon J; Singh, Ravinder J; Weir, Matthew R

    2016-10-01

    Previous studies have suggested that kidney donors may have abnormalities of mineral and bone metabolism typically seen in chronic kidney disease. This may have important implications for the skeletal health of living kidney donors and for our understanding of the pathogenesis of long-term mineral and bone disorders in chronic kidney disease. In this prospective study, 182 of 203 kidney donors and 173 of 201 paired normal controls had markers of mineral and bone metabolism measured before and at 6 and 36 months after donation (ALTOLD Study). Donors had significantly higher serum concentrations of intact parathyroid hormone (24.6% and 19.5%) and fibroblast growth factor-23 (9.5% and 8.4%) at 6 and 36 months, respectively, as compared to healthy controls, and significantly reduced tubular phosphate reabsorption (-7.0% and -5.0%) and serum phosphate concentrations (-6.4% and -2.3%). Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations were significantly lower (-17.1% and -12.6%), while 25-hydroxyvitamin D (21.4% and 19.4%) concentrations were significantly higher in donors compared to controls. Moreover, significantly higher concentrations of the bone resorption markers, carboxyterminal cross-linking telopeptide of bone collagen (30.1% and 13.8%) and aminoterminal cross-linking telopeptide of bone collagen (14.2% and 13.0%), and the bone formation markers, osteocalcin (26.3% and 2.7%) and procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (24.3% and 8.9%), were observed in donors. Thus, kidney donation alters serum markers of bone metabolism that could reflect impaired bone health. Additional long-term studies that include assessment of skeletal architecture and integrity are warranted in kidney donors. Copyright © 2016 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Zinc acetylacetonate hydrate adducted with nitrogen donor ligands: Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and thermal analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahma, Sanjaya; Shivashankar, S. A.

    2015-12-01

    We report synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and thermal analysis of zinc acetylacetonate complex adducted by nitrogen donor ligands, such as pyridine, bipyridine, and phenanthroline. The pyridine adducted complex crystallizes to monoclinic crystal structure, whereas other two adducted complexes have orthorhombic structure. Addition of nitrogen donor ligands enhances the thermal property of these complexes as that with parent metal-organic complex. Zinc acetylacetonate adducted with pyridine shows much higher volatility (106 °C), decomposition temperature (202 °C) as that with zinc acetylacetonate (136 °C, 220 °C), and other adducted complexes. All the adducted complexes are thermally stable, highly volatile and are considered to be suitable precursors for metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The formation of these complexes is confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The complexes are widely used as starting precursor materials for the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures by microwave irradiation assisted coating process.

  11. GIS-based rapid-assessment of bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845) suitability in reservoirs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, James M.; Liang, Yu; Shoup, Daniel E.; Dzialowski, Andrew R.; Bidwell, Joseph R.

    2014-01-01

    Broad-scale niche models are good for examining the potential for invasive species occurrences, but can fall short in providing managers with site-specific locations for monitoring. Using Oklahoma as an example, where invasive bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) are established in certain reservoirs, but predicted to be widely distributed based on broad-scale niche models, we cast bighead carp reproductive ecology in a site-specific geospatial framework to determine their potential establishment in additional reservoirs. Because bighead carp require large, long free-flowing rivers with suitable hydrology for reproduction but can persist in reservoirs, we considered reservoir tributaries with mean annual daily discharge ≥8.5 cubic meters per second (m3 /s) and quantified the length of their unimpeded portions. In contrast to published broad-scale niche models that identified nearly the entire state as susceptible to invasion, our site-specific models showed that few reservoirs in Oklahoma (N = 9) were suitable for bighead carp establishment. Moreover, this method was rapid and identified sites that could be prioritized for increased study or scrutiny. Our results highlight the importance of considering the environmental characteristics of individual sites, which is often the level at which management efforts are implemented when assessing susceptibility to invasion.

  12. Can zero-hour cortical biopsy predict early graft outcomes after living donor renal transplantation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathore, Ranjeet Singh; Mehta, Nisarg; Mehta, Sony Bhaskar; Babu, Manas; Bansal, Devesh; Pillai, Biju S; Sam, Mohan P; Krishnamoorthy, Hariharan

    2017-11-01

    The aim of this study was to identify relevance of subclinical pathological findings in the kidneys of living donors and correlate these with early graft renal function. This was a prospective study on 84 living donor kidney transplant recipients over a period of two years. In all the donors, cortical wedge biopsy was taken and sent for assessment of glomerular, mesangial, and tubule status. The graft function of patients with normal histology was compared with those of abnormal histological findings at one, three, and six months, and one year post-surgery. Most abnormal histological findings were of mild degree. Glomerulosclerosis (GS, 25%), interstitial fibrosis (IF, 13%), acute tubular necrosis (ATN 5%), and focal tubal atrophy (FTA, 5%) were the commonly observed pathological findings in zero-hour biopsies. Only those donors who had histological changes of IF and ATN showed progressive deterioration of renal function at one month, three months, six months, and one year post-transplantation. In donors with other histological changes, no significant effect on graft function was observed. Zero-hour cortical biopsy gave us an idea of the general status of the donor kidney and presence or absence of subclinical pathological lesions. A mild degree of subclinical and pathological findings on zero-hour biopsy did not affect early graft renal function in living donor kidney transplantation. Zero-hour cortical biopsy could also help in discriminating donor-derived lesions from de novo alterations in the kidney that could happen subsequently.

  13. Seropositive abdominal and thoracic donor organs are largely underutilized.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, R M; Pietroski, R E; Hagan, M; Eisenbrey, A B; Fontana, R J

    2010-12-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and utilization of anti-hepatitis B core protein(+) and anti-hepatitis C virus(+) organ donor referrals in a large organ procurement organization. Between 1995 and 2006, 3,134 deceased organ donor referrals were tested for anti-HBc and anti-HCV using commercial assays. The prevalence of anti-HCV(+) organ donor referrals significantly increased from 3.4% in 1994-1996 to 8.1% in 2003-2005 (P organ donor referrals remained unchanged at 3%-4% (P = .20). The 112 anti-HBc(+) (3.5%) and 173 anti-HCV(+) (5.5%) organ donor referrals were significantly older and more likely to be noncaucasian than seronegative organ donor referrals (P donor organs were significantly lower compared with seronegative organ donors (P donors over time (21% vs 46%; P = .026), whereas utilization of anti-HCV(+) liver donors remained unchanged over time (5% vs 18%; P = .303). In summary, the proportion of anti-HCV(+) organ donor referrals has significantly increased and the proportion of anti-HBc(+) organ donor referrals has remained stable. Both thoracic and abdominal organs from seropositive donors are largely underutilized. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. New hydrogen donors in germanium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pokotilo, Yu.M.; Petukh, A.N.; Litvinov, V.V.

    2003-01-01

    The electrophysical properties of the n-type conductivity germanium, irradiated through protons, is studied by the volt-farad method. It is shown that the heat treatment of the implanted germanium at the temperature of 200-300 deg C leads to formation of the fast-diffusing second-rate donors. It is established that the diffusion coefficient of the identified donors coincides with the diffusion coefficient of the atomic hydrogen with an account of the capture on the traps. The conclusion is made, that the atomic hydrogen is the second-rate donor center in germanium [ru

  15. Suitability of non-energy GHGs for emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haites, E.; Proestos, A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper assesses the suitability of different sources of non-energy greenhouse gases for emissions trading. Different forms of emissions trading are defined and criteria for determining whether a source is suitable for emissions trading are proposed. The suitability for emissions trading is assessed for: methane (CH4) from oil and gas production; CH4 from coal mines; CH4 from landfills; CH4 from wastewater treatment; CH4 from enteric fermentation; CH4 from livestock manure, nitrous oxide (N2O) from adipic acid production; N2O from fertilizer use; N2O from nitric acid production, carbon dioxide (CO2) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) from aluminum smelting; sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from magnesium smelting and die casting; HFCs from HCFC production, other uses of SF6, PFCs and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); CO2 from ammonia production; lime and cement production, and iron ore reduction

  16. Computed Tomography Volumetry in Preoperative Living Kidney Donor Assessment for Prediction of Split Renal Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahba, Roger; Franke, Mareike; Hellmich, Martin; Kleinert, Robert; Cingöz, Tülay; Schmidt, Matthias C; Stippel, Dirk L; Bangard, Christopher

    2016-06-01

    Transplant centers commonly evaluate split renal function (SRF) with Tc-99m-mercapto-acetyltriglycin (MAG3) scintigraphy in living kidney donation. Alternatively, the kidney volume can be measured based on predonation CT scans. The aim of this study was to identify the most accurate CT volumetry technique for SRF and the prediction of postdonation kidney function (PDKF). Three CT volumetry techniques (modified ellipsoid volume [MELV], smart region of interest [ROI] volume, renal cortex volume [RCV]) were performed in 101 living kidney donors. Preoperation CT volumetric SRF was determined and compared with MAG3-SRF, postoperation donor kidney function, and graft function. The correlation between donors predonation total kidney volume and predonation kidney function was the highest for RCV (0.58 with creatine clearance, 0.54 with estimated glomerular filtration rate-Cockcroft-Gault). The predonation volume of the preserved kidney was (ROI, MELV, RCV) 148.0 ± 29.1 cm, 151.2 ± 35.4 and 93.9 ± 25.2 (P volumetry SRF and MAG3-SRF (bias, 95% limits of agreement: ROI vs MAG3 0.4%, -7.7% to 8.6%; MELV vs MAG3 0.4%, -8.9% to 9.7%; RCV vs MAG3 0.8%, -9.1% to 10.7%). The correlation between predonation CT volumetric SRF of the preserved kidney and PDKF at day 3 was r = 0.85 to 0.88, between MAG3-SRF and PDKF (r = 0.84). The difference of predonation SRF between preserved and donated kidney was the lowest for ROI and RCV (median, 3% and 4%; 95th percentile, 9% and 13%). Overall renal cortex volumetry seems to be the most accurate technique for the evaluation of predonation SRF and allows a reliable prediction of donor's PDKF.

  17. Negotiating boundaries: Accessing donor gametes in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widge, A; Cleland, J

    2011-01-01

    This paper documents how couples and providers access donor materials for conception in the Indian context and perceptions about using them. The objective is to facilitate understanding of critical issues and relevant concerns. A postal survey was conducted with a sample of 6000 gynaecologists and in-depth interviews were -conducted with 39 gynaecologists in four cities. Donor gametes are relatively more acceptable than a few years ago, especially if confidentiality can be -maintained, though lack of availability of donor materials is sometimes an impediment to infertility treatment. Donor sperms are usually accessed from in-house or commercial sperm banks, pathology laboratories, IVF centres, -professional donors, relatives or friends. There is scepticism about screening procedures of sperm banks. Donor eggs are usually accessed from voluntary donors, friends, relatives, egg sharing programmes, donation from other patients, advertising and commercial donors. There are several concerns regarding informed consent for using donated gametes, using -relatives and friends gametes, the unregulated use of gametes and embryos, record keeping and documentation, -unethical and corrupt practices and commercialisation. These issues need to be addressed by patients, providers and regulatory authorities by providing -information, counselling, ensuring informed consent, addressing exploitation and commercialisation, ensuring -monitoring, proper documentation and transparency.

  18. The impact of meeting donor management goals on the number of organs transplanted per expanded criteria donor: a prospective study from the UNOS Region 5 Donor Management Goals Workgroup.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Madhukar S; Zatarain, John; De La Cruz, Salvador; Sally, Mitchell B; Ewing, Tyler; Crutchfield, Megan; Enestvedt, C Kristian; Malinoski, Darren J

    2014-09-01

    The shortage of organs available for transplant has led to the use of expanded criteria donors (ECDs) to extend the donor pool. These donors are older and have more comorbidities and efforts to optimize the quality of their organs are needed. To determine the impact of meeting a standardized set of critical care end points, or donor management goals (DMGs), on the number of organs transplanted per donor in ECDs. Prospective interventional study from February 2010 to July 2013 of all ECDs managed by the 8 organ procurement organizations in the southwestern United States (United Network for Organ Sharing Region 5). Implementation of 9 DMGs as a checklist to guide the management of every ECD. The DMGs represented normal cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and endocrine end points. Meeting the DMG bundle was defined a priori as achieving any 7 of the 9 end points and was recorded at the time of referral to the organ procurement organization, at the time of authorization for donation, 12 to 18 hours later, and prior to organ recovery. The primary outcome measure was 3 or more organs transplanted per donor and binary logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors with P organs transplanted per donor. Ten percent of the ECDs had met the DMG bundle at referral, 15% at the time of authorization, 33% at 12 to 18 hours, and 45% prior to recovery. Forty-three percent had 3 or more organs transplanted per donor. Independent predictors of 3 or more organs transplanted per donor were older age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95 per year [95% CI, 0.93-0.97]), increased creatinine level (OR = 0.73 per mg/dL [95% CI, 0.63-0.85]), DMGs met prior to organ recovery (OR = 1.90 [95% CI, 1.35-2.68]), and a change in the number of DMGs achieved from referral to organ recovery (OR = 1.11 per additional DMG [95% CI, 1.00-1.23]). Meeting DMGs prior to organ recovery with ECDs is associated with achieving 3 or more organs transplanted per donor. An increase in the number

  19. Parvovirus B19 viraemia in Dutch blood donors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zaaijer, H. L.; Koppelman, M. H. G. M.; Farrington, C. P.

    2004-01-01

    Blood, donated by asymptomatic donors, may contain and transmit parvovirus B19. To investigate the dynamics of parvovirus viraemia in asymptomatic blood donors, we studied the amounts of parvovirus DNA in pools of donor plasma, the prevalence of parvovirus antibodies among blood donors in relation

  20. Intramolecular Charge-Transfer Interaction of Donor-Acceptor-Donor Arrays Based on Anthracene Bisimide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwanaga, Tetsuo; Ogawa, Marina; Yamauchi, Tomokazu; Toyota, Shinji

    2016-05-20

    We designed anthracene bisimide (ABI) derivatives having two triphenylamine (TPA) groups as donor units at the 9,10-positions to form a novel π-conjugated donor-acceptor system. These compounds and their analogues with ethynylene linkers were synthesized by Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira coupling reactions, respectively. In UV-vis spectra, the linker-free derivatives showed broad absorption bands arising from intramolecular charge-transfer interactions. Introducing ethynylene linkers resulted in a considerable red shift of the absorption bands. In fluorescence spectra, the ethynylene derivatives showed intense emission bands at 600-650 nm. Their photophysical and electrochemical properties were compared with those of the corresponding mono TPA derivatives on the basis of theoretical calculations and cyclic voltammetry to evaluate the intramolecular electronic interactions between the donor and acceptor units.

  1. Emergency department referral for organ donation: more organ donors and more organs per donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Lisabeth D; Gardiner, Stuart K; Gubler, K Dean

    2014-05-01

    This study sought to determine whether early referral from the emergency department (ED) would increase the number of organ donors and the number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD). This is a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients referred to a single organ procurement organization for a period of 60 months. Patients referred for organ donation evaluation from the ED were more likely to become organ donors than patients referred from the intensive care unit (19.3% vs 5.2%, P organ donation from the ED is associated with an increased likelihood of organ recovery and with an increased number of OTPD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Suicidal hanging donors for lung transplantation: Is this chapter still closed? Midterm experience from a single center in United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ananiadou, Olga; Schmack, Bastian; Zych, Bartlomiej; Sabashnikov, Anton; Garcia-Saez, Diana; Mohite, Prashant; Weymann, Alexander; Mansur, Ashham; Zeriouh, Mohamed; Marczin, Nandor; De Robertis, Fabio; Simon, Andre Rüdiger; Popov, Aron-Frederik

    2018-04-01

    In the context of limited donor pool in cardiothoracic transplantation, utilization of organs from high risk donors, such as suicidal hanging donors, while ensuring safety, is under consideration. We sought to evaluate the outcomes of lung transplantations (LTx) that use organs from this group.Between January 2011 and December 2015, 265 LTx were performed at our center. Twenty-two recipients received lungs from donors after suicidal hanging (group 1). The remaining 243 transplantations were used as a control (group 2). Analysis of recipient and donor characteristics as well as outcomes was performed.No statistically significant difference was found in the donor characteristics between analyzed groups, except for higher incidence of cardiac arrest, younger age and smoking history of hanging donors (P donor cause of death is not associated with poor mid-term survival or chronic lung allograft dysfunction following transplantation. These results encourage assessment of lungs from hanging donors, and their consideration for transplantation.

  3. BLOODR: blood donor and requester mobile application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatikonda, Vamsi Krishna; El-Ocla, Hosam

    2017-01-01

    With rapid increase in the usage of social networks sites across the world, there is also a steady increase in blood donation requests as being noticed in the number of posts on these sites such as Facebook and twitter seeking blood donors. Finding blood donor is a challenging issue in almost every country. There are some blood donor finder applications in the market such as Blood app by Red Cross and Blood Donor Finder application by Neologix. However, more reliable applications that meet the needs of users are prompted. Several software technologies including languages and framework are used to develop our blood-donor web application known as BLOODR application. These technologies comprise Ruby programming language (simply known as Ruby) along with JavaScript and PostgreSQL for database are used. Ruby on Rails (simply known as Rails) is an open source Web framework that makes it possible to quickly and easily create data-based web applications. We show screenshots for the BLOODR application for different types of users including requester, donor, and administrator. Various features of the application are described and their needs of use are analyzed. If a patient needs a blood at a clinic, blood donors in vicinity can be contacted through using a clinic management service provided in this application. Registered donors will get notification for the blood requests only if their blood group is compatible with the requested blood type and in the same city/region. Then matching blood donors can go to the requesting clinic and donate. BLOODR application provides a reliable platform to connect local blood donors with patients. BLOODR creates a communication channel through authenticated clinics whenever a patient needs blood donation. It is a useful tool to find compatible blood donors who can receive blood request posts in their local area. Clinics can use this web application to maintain the blood donation activity. Future improvement of the BLOODR is explained.

  4. Evaluation of living renal donors: accuracy of three-dimensional 16-section CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rastogi, N; Sahani, D.V.; Blake, M.A.; Ko, D.C.; Mueller, P.R. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (United States). Dept. of Radiology

    2006-07-15

    Purpose: To retrospectively assess the sensitivity and specificity of three-dimensional (3D) 16-section computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of vessels, pelvicalyceal system, and ureters in living renal donors, with surgical findings as the reference standard. Materials and methods: This was a HIPAA-compliant study. Institutional review board approval was obtained for the review of subjects' medical records and data analysis, with waiver of informed consent. Forty-six renal donors (18 men, 28 women; mean age, 42 years) were examined with 16-section CT. Two blinded reviewers independently studied renal vascular and urographic anatomy of each donor CT scans by fist using 3D images alone, then transverse images alone, and finally transverse and 3D data set. Image quality, degree of diagnostic confidence, and time used for review were recorded. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results: For 3D images, transverse images, and transverse in conjunction with 3D data sets, the respective sensitivity and specificity of CT in evaluation of accessory arteries by reviewer 1 were 100% and 100%, 89% and 100%, and 100% and 100%, and those by reviewer 2 were 89% and 97%, 89% and 100%, and 89% and 100%; the respective sensitivity and specificity in evaluation of venous anomalies by reviewer 1 were 100% and 98%, 100% and 98%, and 100% and 98%, and those by reviewer 2 were 100% and 98%, 100% and 95%, and 100% and 98%. For focused comprehensive assessment of renal donors with 3D scans alone, a reviewer on average (average of reviewers 1 and 2) used 2.4 minutes per scan, demonstrated full confidence in 93%, and rated the quality as excellent in 76%. Conclusion: For focused assessment of renal vascular and urographic anatomy, review of 3D data set alone provides high sensitivity and specificity with regard to findings seen at surgery. (author)

  5. Evaluation of living renal donors: accuracy of three-dimensional 16-section CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastogi, N; Sahani, D.V.; Blake, M.A.; Ko, D.C.; Mueller, P.R.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To retrospectively assess the sensitivity and specificity of three-dimensional (3D) 16-section computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of vessels, pelvicalyceal system, and ureters in living renal donors, with surgical findings as the reference standard. Materials and methods: This was a HIPAA-compliant study. Institutional review board approval was obtained for the review of subjects' medical records and data analysis, with waiver of informed consent. Forty-six renal donors (18 men, 28 women; mean age, 42 years) were examined with 16-section CT. Two blinded reviewers independently studied renal vascular and urographic anatomy of each donor CT scans by fist using 3D images alone, then transverse images alone, and finally transverse and 3D data set. Image quality, degree of diagnostic confidence, and time used for review were recorded. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results: For 3D images, transverse images, and transverse in conjunction with 3D data sets, the respective sensitivity and specificity of CT in evaluation of accessory arteries by reviewer 1 were 100% and 100%, 89% and 100%, and 100% and 100%, and those by reviewer 2 were 89% and 97%, 89% and 100%, and 89% and 100%; the respective sensitivity and specificity in evaluation of venous anomalies by reviewer 1 were 100% and 98%, 100% and 98%, and 100% and 98%, and those by reviewer 2 were 100% and 98%, 100% and 95%, and 100% and 98%. For focused comprehensive assessment of renal donors with 3D scans alone, a reviewer on average (average of reviewers 1 and 2) used 2.4 minutes per scan, demonstrated full confidence in 93%, and rated the quality as excellent in 76%. Conclusion: For focused assessment of renal vascular and urographic anatomy, review of 3D data set alone provides high sensitivity and specificity with regard to findings seen at surgery. (author)

  6. Recruitment of aged donor heart with pharmacological stress echo. A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bombardini Tonino

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The heart transplant is a treatment of the heart failure, which is not responding to medications, and its efficiency is already proved: unfortunately, organ donation is a limiting step of this life-saving procedure. To counteract heart donor shortage, we should screen aged potential donor hearts for initial cardiomyopathy and functionally significant coronary artery disease. Donors with a history of cardiac disease are generally excluded. Coronary angiography is recommended for most male donors older than 45 years and female donors older than 50 years to evaluate coronary artery stenoses. A simpler way to screen aged potential donor hearts for initial cardiomyopathy and functionally significant coronary artery disease should be stress echocardiography. Case report A marginal donor (A 57 year old woman meeting legal requirements for brain death underwent a transesophageal (TE Dipyridamole stress echo (6 minutes accelerated protocol to rule out moderate or severe heart and coronary artery disease. Wall motion was normal at baseline and at peak stress (WMSI = 1 at baseline and peak stress, without signs of stress inducible ischemia. The pressure/volume ratio was 9.6 mmHg/ml/m2 at baseline, increasing to 14 mmHg/ml/m2 at peak stress, demonstrating absence of latent myocardial dysfunction. The marginal donor heart was transplanted to a recipient "marginal" for co-morbidity ( a 63 year old man with multiple myeloma and cardiac amyloidosis , chronic severe heart failure, NYHA class IV. Postoperative treatment and early immunosuppressant regimen were performed according to standard protocols. The transplanted heart was assessed normal for dimensions and ventricular function at transthoracic (TT echocardiography on post-transplant day 7. Coronary artery disease was ruled out at coronary angiography one month after transplant; left ventriculography showed normal global and segmental LV function of the transplanted heart. Conclusion For

  7. Assessing the Habitat Suitability of Dam Reservoirs: A Quantitative Model and Case Study of the Hantan River Dam, South Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyeongsik Kang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to investigate ecologically healthy regions near a dam reservoir. This study developed a model for assessing habitat suitability as a proxy for the ecological value of reservoirs. Three main factors comprising nine assessment variables were selected and classified as having a habitat suitability (HS between 0 and 1: (1 geomorphic factors of altitude, slope steepness, and slope aspect; (2 vegetation factors of forest physiognomy, vegetation type, and tree age; and (3 ecological factors of land cover, ecological quality index, and environmental conservation value assessment. The spatial distribution of the nine HS indices was determined using geographic information systems and combined into one HS index value to determine ecologically healthy regions. The assessment model was applied to areas surrounding the Hantan River Dam, South Korea. To verify the model, wildlife location data from the national ecosystem survey of the Ministry of Environment were used. Areas with an HS index between 0.73 and 1 were found to contain 72% of observed wildlife locations. Ecologically healthy areas were identified by adding the indices of each variable. The methods shown here will be useful for establishing ecological restoration plans for dam reservoirs in South Korea.

  8. Initial experience with purely laparoscopic living-donor right hepatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, S K; Lee, K W; Choi, Y; Kim, H S; Ahn, S W; Yoon, K C; Kim, H; Yi, N J; Suh, K S

    2018-05-01

    There may be concerns about purely laparoscopic donor right hepatectomy (PLDRH) compared with open donor right hepatectomy, especially when performed by surgeons accustomed to open surgery. This study aimed to describe technical tips and pitfalls in PLDRH. Data from donors who underwent PLDRH at Seoul National University Hospital between December 2015 and July 2017 were analysed retrospectively. Endpoints analysed included intraoperative events and postoperative complications. All operations were performed by a single surgeon with considerable experience in open living donor hepatectomy. A total of 26 donors underwent purely laparoscopic right hepatectomy in the study interval. No donor required transfusion during surgery, whereas two underwent reoperation. In two donors, the dissection plane at the right upper deep portion of the midplane was not correct. One donor experienced portal vein injury during caudate lobe transection, and one developed remnant left hepatic duct stenosis. One donor experienced remnant portal vein angulation owing to a different approach angle, and one experienced arterial damage associated with the use of a laparoscopic energy device. One donor had postoperative bleeding due to masking of potential bleeding foci owing to intra-abdominal pressure during laparoscopy. Two donors experienced right liver surface damage caused by a xiphoid trocar. Purely laparoscopic donor hepatectomy differs from open donor hepatectomy in terms of angle and caudal view. Therefore, surgeons experienced in open donor hepatectomy must gain adequate experience in laparoscopic liver surgery and make adjustments when performing PLDRH. © 2018 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Assessing the suitability of paste as a medium for plant growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Yongsheng; Sinclair, L.; Fung, Y.P.

    1999-01-01

    When a polymer is added to the tailings slurry in the extraction process in oil sands refining, it accelerates the release of water and forms a consolidated, dense material known as 'paste.' This material has a solids content of approximately 65% by weight, 30% of which is made up of fine particles. A study was initiated to explore the possibility of using paste as a plant growth medium in which the paste must hold water and nutrients for growth while allowing adequate water movement and aeration. To also attain a favorable soil structure, it was thought that amending the paste with an adequate amount of peat would improve its physical and chemical properties such as to render it a suitable soil environment for plant growth. The study was a growth chamber experiment in which the effects were assessed of peat amendments on seed germination, and a greenhouse experiment in which the growth of three selected plant species were determined, including highlander grass, jack pine, and trembling aspen. Paste has the potential to be modified into a suitable plant growth medium. Adding peat can greatly enhance seed germination, and seedling survival and growth. There seemed to be some improvement in plant performance as the amount of peat included increased from 5% to 10%. Increasing the amount of peat still further to 15% had at best marginal incremental effects. The optimum amount of peat amendment was around 10%. Of the three plant types tested, highlander grass performed the best on the paste material amended with peat, showing performance comparable to the control. Trembling aspen grew relatively well but the survival rate was low. If the seedlings survived the first few weeks, the potential for continued growth seemed good. Jack pine showed signs of stress such as needle damage, stunted growth and low survival rates and seemed unlikely to establish well even on the peat amended paste. 1 ref., 4 tabs., 2 figs

  10. Potential organ donor audit in Ireland.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Hegarty, M

    2010-11-01

    As increasing demand for organs is a challenge for transplant services worldwide it is essential to audit the process of organ donation. To address this, a national audit of potential organ donors was undertaken across hospitals with Intensive Care Units (N = 36). Questionnaires were returned on all patients (n = 2073) who died in these units from 1\\/9\\/07-31\\/8\\/08; 200 (10%) of these patients were considered for Brain Stem Testing (BST), 158 patients (79%) were diagnosed Brain Stem Dead (BSD) and 138 patients (87%) became potential donors. Consent for donation was given by 92 (69%) next of kin and 90 potential donors (65%) became organ donors. There was no evidence of a large number of potential organ donors being missed. Recommendations included completion of BSTs on all appropriate patients, development of support on BST, referral of all BSD patients to the Organ Procurement Service; enhanced co-ordination within hospitals and sustained information\\/education campaigns.

  11. Characteristics of donors who do or do not return to give blood and barriers to their return

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wevers, Anne; Wigboldus, Daniël H.J.; de Kort, Wim L.A.M.; van Baaren, Rick; Veldhuizen, Ingrid J.T.

    2014-01-01

    Background In the Netherlands about 50% of whole blood donors return to give blood after an invitation to donate. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of donor return behaviour and to gain insight into the barriers to blood donation reported by the donors themselves. Materials and methods A total of 4,901 whole blood donors were invited to donate in week 39 of 2009. Barriers mentioned by donors who informed the blood bank for not donating were registered for 1 month. Logistic regression analyses assessed relevant characteristics of return behaviour, such as age and blood type, in men and women separately. Results Of the invited donors, 55% returned to give a donation, whereas 45% did not return. Male donors were more likely to return when they were older, had a higher previous return rate and had no past deferrals. The same pattern was found among women, but was less strong. The main barriers were: time constraints (35%), preference to postpone donation due to general physical problems although being eligible to donate (29%), and being ineligible to donate due to medical deferral criteria (9%). Discussion Specific donor characteristics are associated with return behaviour. Not donating due to time constraints could mean that donors do not feel the urgency of donating blood. Interventions targeted to increase commitment among specific donor groups should be tested further. PMID:23522891

  12. Blood donor notification and counseling: Our experience from a tertiary care hospital in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urvershi Kotwal

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims: To evaluate the response rate of transfusion-transmissible infection (TTI-reactive donors after notification of their abnormal test results for the year 2012. Materials and Methods: This study is an observational descriptive study performed in our department over a period of 1 year. We evaluated the response rate of TTI-reactive donors after notification of their abnormal test results over 1 year as per the existing strategy (three telephonic and two postal communications. Results: During the study period, among the annual donation of 15,322 units, 464 blood donors were found to be seroreactive. Of these 464 seroreactive cases, 47 were HIV positive, 284 were reactive for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg, 49 were Hepatitis C (HCV positive and 84 were VDRL reactive. The TTI-reactive donors (464 for various markers were contacted: 229 (49.4% telephonically and the remaining 235 (50.6% not contacted on phone were informed by post. Of the 229 contacted donors, the response rate was 98.2% as only 225 donors reported (221 on the first, three on second and one on the third call for one to one counseling. The remaining four non-responders were - one HIV and three HBsAg reactive. The remaining 235 (50.6% reactive donors did not respond to any communication. Conclusion: Donor notification and post-donation counseling are an essential aspect of the blood bank that entails provision of information on serological status, assess the impact of test results on the donor and finally referral for medical care. As in our data only 49.4% of the blood donors could be contacted successfully, incomplete demographic details was the major limiting factor in communicating with rest. Of the 229 contacted donors, the response rate was 98.2%. A large majority (94.75% of the notified donors in our study contacted their health care provider when given clear instructions to do so. These results are encouraging because they indicate that a major element of the

  13. Theoretical study on the application of double-donor branched organic dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Yan-Hong; Liu, Rui-Rui [Gansu Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Eco-environment-related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, Gansu (China); Zhu, Kai-Li [College of Chemistry and Life Science, Gansu Normal University for Nationalities, Hezuo, 747000, Gansu (China); Song, Yan-Lin [Gansu Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Eco-environment-related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, Gansu (China); Geng, Zhi-Yuan, E-mail: zhiyuangeng@126.com [Gansu Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Eco-environment-related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, Gansu (China)

    2016-09-15

    A novel organic dye with 2D-A structure has been designed and calculated whereby density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) for dye-sensitized solar cells. The double-donor branched dye which was consisted of two separated light-harvesting moieties was beneficial to photocurrent generation. First, we discussed the effects of different donor chains on photoelectric performance in the dye molecule, using the DTP-B8 which was a previously reported structure as the reference. Only to conclude that the suitable length can achieve the satisfactory efficiency. Secondly, to modify and sift potential sensitizers further, three series of dyes (BC-series, CB-series and CC-series) were designed and characterized. The increased molar extinction coefficient and the red-shifted λ{sub max} was attributed to an increasing in electron conjunction. This work presented a new route to design sensitizers that provide two channels for donating more electrons and improve the final efficiency. It is expected to provide some theoretical guidance on designing and synthetizing high efficiency photosensitive dye in the future experiments. - Highlights: • A novel organic dye with 2D-A structure was designed and characterized. • The double-donor branched dye was consisted of two separated light-harvesting paths. • The double-donor branched dye was beneficial to photocurrent generation. • The molar extinction coefficient was greatly improved in this novel structure. • Four promising candidates have been screened out.

  14. Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 p24 antigen in U.S. blood donors--an assessment of the efficacy of testing in donor screening. The HIV-Antigen Study Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alter, H J; Epstein, J S; Swenson, S G; VanRaden, M J; Ward, J W; Kaslow, R A; Menitove, J E; Klein, H G; Sandler, S G; Sayers, M H

    1990-11-08

    We performed a multicenter study in 1989 to determine whether screening whole-blood donors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) p24 antigen would improve transfusion safety by identifying carriers of the virus who are seronegative for HIV-1 antibody. More than 500,000 donations were tested at 13 U.S. blood centers with test kits from two manufacturers. Units found repeatedly reactive were retested in a central laboratory; if the results were positive, they were confirmed by a neutralization assay. A subgroup of units was also tested for HIV-1 by the polymerase chain reaction. Selected donors confirmed or not confirmed as having p24 antigen were contacted for follow-up interviews to identify risk factors and undergo retesting for HIV-1 markers. Positive tests for p24 antigen were confirmed by neutralization in five donors (0.001 percent of all donations tested), all of whom were also positive for HIV-1 antibody and HIV-1 by polymerase chain reaction. Three of the antigen-positive donors had other markers of infectious disease that would have resulted in the exclusion of their blood; two had risk factors for HIV-1 that should have led to self-exclusion. Of 220 blood units with repeatedly reactive p24 antigen whose presence could not be confirmed by neutralization (0.04 percent of the donations studied), none were positive for HIV-1 antibody, HIV-1 by polymerase chain reaction (120 units tested), or virus culture (76 units tested)--attesting to the specificity of confirmatory neutralization. The finding that no donation studied was positive for p24 antigen and negative for HIV-1 antibody suggests that screening donors for p24 antigen with tests of the current level of sensitivity would not add substantially to the safety of the U.S. blood supply.

  15. Return behavior of occasional and multigallon blood donors: the role of theory of planned behavior, self-identity, and organizational variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wevers, Anne; Wigboldus, Daniël H J; van Baaren, Rick; Veldhuizen, Ingrid J T

    2014-03-01

    For blood establishments it is important that blood donors return for a donation. Past research has stressed the importance of theory of planned behavior (TPB) on return behavior, but self-identity (SI) and organizational variables (OVs) might play a role as well. This study added SI and OVs to the TPB to identify the determinants for return behavior. Whole blood donors (n = 2005) completed a questionnaire assessing TPB, SI, and OVs. OVs contained "perceived satisfaction with the blood bank" and "feeling pressure from the blood bank to donate blood." Return behavior over the past 2 years was dichotomized as low return (0%-50%) versus high return (51%-100%). Logistic regression analyses assessed the effects of TPB, SI, and OVs on high return, separately for occasional donors (two to 10 lifetime donations) and multigallon donors (>10 lifetime donations). Results showed that, for all donors, affective attitude was positively associated with return behavior, whereas pressure to donate blood was negatively associated with return behavior. The point estimates of self-efficacy, SI, and perceived satisfaction are high for multigallon donors, but do not reach significance. For all donors, positive feelings about donating blood stimulate return behavior, while experiencing a pressure to donate blood emanating from the blood bank was not beneficial. Results suggest that multigallon donors are more stimulated to return when they score higher on self-efficacy, SI, and perceived satisfaction. Interventions aiming at donor retention need to be carefully formulated to avoid negative effects of feeling pressure to donate blood. © 2013 American Association of Blood Banks.

  16. Assessing the suitability of commercial fisheries data for local-scale ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... are suitable for systematic spatial planning on a local scale and can be used for future spatial management and conservation. Keywords: chokka-squid, conservation planning, demersal trawl, linefish, logbooks, observer data, shark longline, small pelagic, vessel monitoring system. African Journal of Marine Science 2014, ...

  17. Low central venous pressure with milrinone during living donor hepatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, H-G; Nahm, F S; Sohn, H-M; Jeong, E-J; Jung, C-W

    2010-04-01

    Maintaining a low central venous pressure (CVP) has been frequently used in liver resections to reduce blood loss. However, decreased preload carries potential risks such as hemodynamic instability. We hypothesized that a low CVP with milrinone would provide a better surgical environment and hemodynamic stability during living donor hepatectomy. Thirty-eight healthy adult liver donors were randomized to receive either milrinone (milrinone group, n = 19) or normal saline (control group, n = 19) infusion during liver resection. The surgical field was assessed using a four-point scale. Intraoperative vital signs, blood loss, the use of vasopressors and diuretics and postoperative laboratory data were compared between groups. The milrinone group showed a superior surgical field (p milrinone group required smaller amounts of vasopressors and less-frequent diuretics to maintain a low CVP. The milrinone group also showed a more rapid recovery pattern after surgery. Milrinone-induced low CVP improves the surgical field with less blood loss during living donor hepatectomy and also has favorable effects on intraoperative hemodynamics and postoperative recovery.

  18. True HIV seroprevalence in Indian blood donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudhury, N; Ayagiri, A; Ray, V L

    2000-03-01

    The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the apex body for controlling AIDS in India, projected that HIV seroprevalence would increase from 7/1000 in 1995 to 21.2/1000 in 1997. A high incidence (8.2%) of HIV was observed in blood donors. This study was carried out to find out the true HIV positivity in Indian blood donors. Blood donors from our centre were followed for more than 5 years to determine the true HIV seroprevalence and our result was compared with similar studies from India. Voluntary and relative blood donors who visited the SGPGIMS, Lucknow, since 1993 to June 1998 were included. They were screened for HIV 1/2 by ELISA kits (WHO approved). First-time HIV-positive samples were preserved frozen for further study (stage-I). They were repeated in duplicate and retested with other kits. If found positive, the sample was labelled as ELISA positive (stage-II). ELISA-positive samples were confirmed by Western Blot (WB) at stage-III. A total of 65 288 donors were included and 834 (12.8/1000) were reactive at stage-I. But 1.1/1000 donors were found to be ELISA positive at stage-II, and 0.28/1000 donors were positive by WB at stage-III. The 'seropositivity' rate from the NACO was significantly (P commercial blood banks. The HIV prevalence of blood donors (and national prevalence) is to be reassessed.

  19. Long-term outcome of renal transplantation from octogenarian donors: A multicenter controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruggenenti, Piero; Silvestre, Cristina; Boschiero, Luigino; Rota, Giovanni; Furian, Lucrezia; Perna, Annalisa; Rossini, Giuseppe; Remuzzi, Giuseppe; Rigotti, Paolo

    2017-12-01

    To assess whether biopsy-guided selection of kidneys from very old brain-dead donors enables more successful transplantations, the authors of this multicenter, observational study compared graft survival between 37 recipients of 1 or 2 histologically evaluated kidneys from donors older than 80 years and 198 reference-recipients of non-histologically evaluated single grafts from donors aged 60 years and younger (transplantation period: 2006-2013 at 3 Italian centers). During a median (interquartile range) of 25 (13-42) months, 2 recipients (5.4%) and 10 reference-recipients (5.1%) required dialysis (crude and donor age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.55 [0.34-7.12], P = .576 and 1.41 [0.10-19.54], P = .798, respectively). Shared frailty analyses confirmed similar outcomes in a 1:2 propensity score study comparing recipients with 74 reference-recipients matched by center, year, donor, and recipient sex and age. Serum creatinine was similar across groups during 84-month follow-up. Recipients had remarkably shorter waiting times than did reference-recipients and matched reference-recipients (7.5 [4.0-19.5] vs 36 [19-56] and 40 [24-56] months, respectively, P < .0001 for both comparisons). Mean (± SD) kidney donor risk index was 2.57 ± 0.32 in recipients vs 1.09 ± 0.24 and 1.14 ± 0.24 in reference-recipients and matched reference-recipients (P < .0001 for both comparisons). Adverse events were similar across groups. Biopsy-guided allocation of kidneys from octogenarian donors permits further expansion of the donor organ pool and faster access to a kidney transplant, without increasing the risk of premature graft failure. © 2017 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  20. Live donor transplantation--the incompetent donor: comparative law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfman, Samuel; Shaked, Tali

    2008-12-01

    Informed consent of the patient to medical treatment is an essential prerequisite for any invasive medical procedure. However in emergency cases, when the patient is unable to sign a consent form due to unconsciousness or to psychotic state, than the primary medical consideration shall take place. In such a case, in order to save life or even prevent a major medical hazard to the patient, doctors are allowed, in certain cases and in accordance with well accepted medical practice, to perform invasive procedures, major surgery or risky pharmacological treatment, without the explicit consent of the patient. All the above refers to the cases when avoidance of such non-consented treatment may harm severely the health and wellbeing of the patient and there is no doubt that such treatment is for the ultimate benefit of the patient. The question, however, shall arise when such a medical procedure is not necessarily for the benefit of the patient, but rather for the benefit of somebody else. Such is the case in the transplantation area and the question of living donor-donee relationship. This paper shall analyze the legal situation in cases of non competent donors whose consent cannot be considered legal consent given in full understanding and out of free will. It will also compare three legal systems, the Israeli, the American and the traditional Jewish law, with regard to the different approaches to this human problem, where the autonomy of the donor may be sacrificed for the purpose of saving life of another person.

  1. The Blood Donor Anxiety Scale: a six-item state anxiety measure based on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chell, Kathleen; Waller, Daniel; Masser, Barbara

    2016-06-01

    Research demonstrates that anxiety elevates the risk of blood donors experiencing adverse events, which in turn deters the performance of repeat blood donations. Identifying donors suffering from heightened state anxiety is important to assess the impact of evidence-based interventions. This study analyzed the appropriateness of a shortened version of the state subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in a blood donation context. STAI-State questionnaire data were collected from two separate samples of Australian blood donors (n = 919 and n = 824 after cleaning). Responses to demographic, donation history, and adverse reaction questions were also obtained. Identification of items and analysis was performed systematically to assess and compare internal reliability and content, construct, convergent, and criterion validity of three potential short-form state anxiety scales. Of the three short-form scales tested, STAI-State six-item scale demonstrated the best metric properties with the least number of items across both sample groups. Cronbach's alpha was acceptable (α = 0.844 and α = 0.820), correlated positively with the original measure (r = 0.927 and r = 0.931) and criterion-related variables, and maintained the two-dimension factorial structure of the original measure. The six-item short version of the STAI-State subscale presented the most reliable and valid scale for use with blood donors. A validated donor anxiety tool provides a standardized assessment and record of donor anxiety to gauge the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to enhance the donation experience. © 2016 AABB.

  2. Factors affecting the serological testing of cadaveric donor cornea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raj, Anuradha; Mittal, Garima; Bahadur, Harsh

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serological profile of the eye donors and to study the influence of various factors on serological test results. A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted, and data of 509 donors were reviewed from the records of eye bank from December 2012 to June 2017. Various details of donors analyzed included the age, sex of the donor, cause of death, source of tissue, time since blood collection after death, macroscopic appearance of blood sample, and details of discarded tissues. Serological examination of blood was performed for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL), and serology reports reactive or nonreactive were analyzed. Among the 509 donors, 295 (58%) were male, and 420 (82.50%) belonged to age group ≥60 years. Most donors (354, 69.5%) died due to cardiac arrest. Macroscopically, sera were normal in the majority of 488 (95.9%) cases. Among 509 donors, 475 (93.3%) were nonreactive, 12 (2.4%) donors were found to be reactive to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and 1 (0.2%) was reactive to HCV, but no donor serology was reactive to HIV or VDRL. Twenty-one (4.12%) donors' sera were not fit for serological testing. Among all donors, 475 (93.32%) donors were accepted and 34 (6.67%) were rejected or discarded on the basis of serological testing. Cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influenced the serological results in a highly significant manner (P = 0.00). Acceptance or rejection of the donor was significantly influenced by the serological results of the donor (P = 0.00). The seroprevalence among eye donor for HBsAg and HCV was 12 (2.4%) and 1 (0.2%), respectively. Factors such as cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influence the serological results. Time since blood collection or sampling will not show any impact on viral serological results if postmortem sampling will be done in donor cornea.

  3. Comparison of postoperative coagulation profiles and outcome for sugammadex versus pyridostigmine in 992 living donors after living-donor hepatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Young-Jin; Kim, Sung-Hoon; Kim, Jae-Won; Lee, Yoon-Kyung; Jun, In-Gu; Hwang, Gyu-Sam

    2018-03-01

    Donor safety is the major concern in living donor liver transplantation, although hepatic resection may be associated with postoperative coagulopathy. Recently, the use of sugammadex has been gradually increased, but sugammadex is known to prolong prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). We compared the postoperative coagulation profiles and outcomes of sugammadex versus pyridostigmine group in donors receiving living donor hepatectomy.Consecutive donor hepatectomy performed between September 2013 and August 2016 was retrospectively analyzed. For reversal of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade, donors received sugammadex 4 mg/kg or pyridostigmine 0.25 mg/kg. The primary end-points were laboratory findings (PT, aPTT, hemoglobin, platelet count) and clinically evaluated postoperative bleeding (relaparotomy for bleeding, cumulative volume collected in drains). Secondary outcomes were anesthesia time, postoperative hospital day.Of 992 donors, 383 treated with sugammadex and 609 treated with pyridostigmine for the reversal of neuromuscular blockade. There were no significant differences between both groups for drop in hemoglobin and platelet, prolongation in PT, aPTT, and the amount of 24-h drain volume. Bleeding events within 24 h were reported in 2 (0.3%) for pyridostigmine group and 0 (0%) for sugammadex group (P = .262). Anesthesia time was significantly longer in pyridostigmine group than that in sugammadex group (438.8 ± 71.4 vs. 421.3 ± 62.3, P sugammadex group (P = .002).Sugammadex 4 mg/kg was not associated with increased bleeding tendency, but associated with reduced anesthesia time and hospital stay. Therefore, sugammadex may be safely used and will decrease morbidity in donor undergoing living-donor hepatectomy.

  4. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Blood Donor’s Status of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis in this Region of Marathwada, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rangrao H. Deshpande

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Aims & Objectives: Blood transfusion can cause the transmission of infections to recipients. This is an important mode of infection. The aim of study was to assess the prevalence of such type of infections among blood donors and to compare the seroprevalence of transfusion transmitted diseases in voluntary donors and replacement donors. Retrospective study of five years from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2011 was done. This study was conducted at Blood bank, MIMSR Medical College Latur, Govt. Medical College, Latur and Bhalchandra Blood bank, Latur. Material & Methods: Total 10, 4925 donors were tested. Donors were screened for seroprevalence of HIV, HBC, HCV and Syphilis. Screening of HIV, HBV & HCV was done by ELISA method & Syphilis was screened by RPR type. Results: The comparison of seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV & Syphilis in voluntary donors and replacement donors showed significant difference only for HIV in the years 2007, 2010, and 2011. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of transfusion transmitted diseases in the study is very low or negligible in voluntary donors as compared to replacement donors. There was a declining trend of seroprevalence for all the disease screened. But in our study the difference is not significant, which indicates that the selection of donors is of low quality. The selection of high quality voluntary donors should be achieved by creation of awareness by education of the prospective donor populations.

  5. The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in blood donors in a Nigerian teaching hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okocha, E C; Ibeh, C C; Ele, P U; Ibeh, N C

    2005-03-01

    The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among blood donors and to determine the possible risk of transmission of malaria parasite to recipients of blood in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State. Four hundred and forty-four subjects were selected randomly and EDTA added blood was collected for screening malaria parasites using Giemsa stain. The data were subjected to chi2 analysis. Prevalence of malaria was 30.2% among blood donors and showed bimodal distribution with significant variation in different months. Due to high prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in this region, all blood samples should be screened for malaria parasites (post-donor screening) and administered with a curative dose of antimalarials prophylactically to all patients transfused with malaria parasite positive blood.

  6. Selected Mildly Obese Donors Can Be Used Safely in Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhamad, Tarek; Malone, Andrew F; Lentine, Krista L; Brennan, Daniel C; Wellen, Jason; Chang, Su-Hsin; Chakkera, Harini A

    2017-06-01

    Donor obesity, defined as donor body mass index (D-BMI) of 30 kg/m or greater, has been associated with increased risk of technical failure and poor pancreas allograft outcomes. Many transplant centers establish a threshold of D-BMI of 30 kg/m to decline donor offers for pancreas transplantation. However, no previous studies differentiate the impact of mild (D-BMI, 30-35 kg/m) versus severe obesity (D-BMI, ≥35 kg/m) on pancreas allograft outcomes. We examined Organ Procurement Transplant Network database records for 9916 simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants (SPKT) performed between 2000 and 2013. We categorized donor body mass index (D-BMI) into 4 groups: 20 to 25 (n = 5724), 25 to 30 (n = 3303), 30 to 35 (n = 751), and 35 to 50 kg/m (n= 138). Associations of D-BMI with pancreas and kidney allograft failure were assessed by multivariate Cox regression adjusted for recipient, donor, and transplant factors. Compared with D-BMI 20 to 25 kg/m, only D-BMI 35 to 50 kg/m was associated with significantly higher pancreas allograft [adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI], 1.04-1.79] and kidney allograft (aHR, 1.36; CI, 1.02-1.82) failure over the study period (13 years). Donor BMI 30 to 35 kg/m did not impact pancreas allograft (aHR, 0.99; CI, 0.86-1.37) or kidney allograft (aHR, 0.98; CI, 0.84-1.15) failure. Similar patterns were noted at 3 months, and 1, 5, and 10 years posttransplant. These data support that pancreata from mildly obese donors (BMI, 30-35 kg/m) can be safely used for transplantation, with comparable short-term and long-term outcomes as organs from lean donors. Consideration of pancreata from obese donors may decrease the pancreas discard rate.

  7. Adverse reactions, psychological factors, and their effect on donor retention in men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veldhuizen, Ingrid; Atsma, Femke; van Dongen, Anne; de Kort, Wim

    2012-09-01

    This study investigates the effect of a vasovagal reaction (VVR) or needle reaction (NR) on the risk of stopping as a blood donor, taking into account variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Is stopping risk solely related to the adverse reaction itself, or do the TPB variables play a role as well? Emphasis is placed on possible sex differences. TPB variables were assessed within 12,051 whole blood donors. Also, donors reported the occurrence of adverse reactions during or after their last donation. Blood bank records were used to determine whether donors stopped donating within the next 2 years. Logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the effect of self-reported adverse reactions on stopping risk, adjusting for the TPB variables. Analyses were performed separately for both sexes. Men have a lower odds of reporting a NR or a VVR than women (odds ratio [OR] 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.43; and OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.19-0.36, for NR and VVR, respectively). For both sexes, only a VVR was associated with stopping risk, which is higher in men (men, OR 3.95, 95% CI 2.19-7.11; women, OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.35-2.35). After adjusting for the TPB variables both ORs declined (men, OR 3.38, 95% CI 1.86-6.15; women, OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.17-2.14). Also, self-efficacy and affective attitude are negatively associated with adverse reactions. Female donors report more VVRs than male donors, but male donors have a higher stopping risk after a VVR than female donors. Coping differences and possible reporting tendencies might play a role. For donor retention purposes, prevention and coping techniques should take sex differences into account. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

  8. Preoperative imaging in 78 living kidney donors using CE-MRA and DSA; Donor-Evaluation vor Lebendnierenspende: Vergleich von CE-MRA und DSA an 78 Patienten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lemke, U.; Taupitz, M.; Hamm, B.; Kroencke, T.J. [Inst. fuer Radiologie, Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin (Germany); Kluener, C. [Inst. fuer Radiologie und Neuroradiologie, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Oldenburg (Germany); Giessing, M.; Schoenberger, B. [Urologische Klinik und Poliklinik, Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin (Germany)

    2008-01-15

    Purpose: to evaluate contrast-enhanced 3D magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in comparison with the intraoperative findings in living kidney donors. Materials and methods: a total of 156 kidneys in 78 potential kidney donors were prospectively examined using CE-MRA (0.2 mmol Gd/kg, voxel size 1.3 x 0.8 x 2.0) and DSA. Two experienced radiologists assessed the images in consensus regarding the renal vascular anatomy and variants. The results for the 67 candidates accepted for donation were compared to the intraoperative findings. In the other kidneys not accepted for donor nephrectomy, MRA and DSA were compared with each other. Results: nineteen arterial variants were identified intraoperatively, of which 11 (58%) were also detected by preoperative CE-MRA and 10 (53%) by preoperative DSA. Of the 10 venous variants found intraoperatively, CE-MRA detected 8 (80%) and DSA 3 (30%). The agreement (kappa test) between MRI and DSA for all 156 evaluated kidneys was 0.7 for arterial variants (McNemar p = 0.12) and 0.3 for venous variants (McNemar p = 0.01). The preoperative choice of kidney (right or left) made on the basis of the renal vascular anatomy seen on CE-MRA and DSA differed in 22% of the 78 potential donors (McNemar P = 0.3). (orig.)

  9. Donor cornea procurement: six-year review of the role of the eye bank in South Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, K A; White, M A; Badenoch, P R; Wedding, T R; Alfrich, S J; Sawyer, M A; Noack, L M; Johnstone, E W; Zilm, G; Coster, D J

    1990-02-01

    The Lions Eye Bank of South Australia was established six years ago and has collected corneas from 790 donors. The consent rate is currently 82% of requests made. Two-thirds of donors have been male, with mean donor age/year varying from 54 to 64 years (range two to 93 years). Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, trauma and haemorrhage account for 80% of all donor deaths. Mean death to enucleation time is five hours. Corneas assessed as being of excellent or very good quality are released preferentially from the bank; those with central endothelial cell counts of less than 1500 cells/mm2 are discarded. Fewer than 1% of donors have returned a positive result for HIV or hepatitis B. Of the 1580 corneas collected by the bank, 863 (55%) have been used for transplantation with a primary non-function rate of 0.46%. The evolving policies, logistics of operation and methodologies employed by the bank are described in detail.

  10. Function following Living Donor Nephrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Heldt

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. While tobacco use by a renal transplant recipient has been shown to negatively affect graft and patient survival, the effect of smoking on the part of the kidney donor remains unknown. Methods. 29 smoking donors (SD and their recipients (SD-R as well as 71 non-smoking donors (ND and their recipients (ND-R were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative demographics and perioperative variables including serum creatinine (Cr and glomerular filtration rate (GFR were calculated and stratified by amount of tobacco exposure in pack-years. Clinical outcomes were analyzed with a Student's t-test, chi-square, and multiple linear regression analysis (=0.05. Results. At most recent followup, SD-R's had a significantly smaller percent decrease in postoperative Cr than ND-R's (−57% versus −81%; =0.015 and lower calculated GFR's (37.0 versus 53.0 mL/min per 1.73 m2; <0.001. SD's had a larger percent increase in Cr than ND's at most recent followup (57% versus 40%; <0.001, with active smokers having a larger increase than those who quit, although this difference was not statistically significant (68% versus 52%; =0.055. Conclusions. Use of tobacco by kidney donors is associated with decreased posttransplant renal function, although smoking cessation can improve outcomes. Kidneys from donors who smoke should be used with caution.

  11. Regional prediction of basin-scale brown trout habitat suitability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Ceola

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study we propose a novel method for the estimation of ecological indices describing the habitat suitability of brown trout (Salmo trutta. Traditional hydrological tools are coupled with an innovative regional geostatistical technique, aiming at the prediction of the brown trout habitat suitability index where partial or totally ungauged conditions occur. Several methods for the assessment of ecological indices are already proposed in the scientific literature, but the possibility of exploiting a geostatistical prediction model, such as Topological Kriging, has never been investigated before. In order to develop a regional habitat suitability model we use the habitat suitability curve, obtained from measured data of brown trout adult individuals collected in several river basins across the USA. The Top-kriging prediction model is then employed to assess the spatial correlation between upstream and downstream habitat suitability indices. The study area is the Metauro River basin, located in the central part of Italy (Marche region, for which both water depth and streamflow data were collected. The present analysis focuses on discharge values corresponding to the 0.1-, 0.5-, 0.9-empirical quantiles derived from flow-duration curves available for seven gauging stations located within the study area, for which three different suitability indices (i.e. ψ10, ψ50 and ψ90 are evaluated. The results of this preliminary analysis are encouraging showing Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies equal to 0.52, 0.65, and 0.69, respectively.

  12. Regional prediction of basin-scale brown trout habitat suitability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceola, S.; Pugliese, A.

    2014-09-01

    In this study we propose a novel method for the estimation of ecological indices describing the habitat suitability of brown trout (Salmo trutta). Traditional hydrological tools are coupled with an innovative regional geostatistical technique, aiming at the prediction of the brown trout habitat suitability index where partial or totally ungauged conditions occur. Several methods for the assessment of ecological indices are already proposed in the scientific literature, but the possibility of exploiting a geostatistical prediction model, such as Topological Kriging, has never been investigated before. In order to develop a regional habitat suitability model we use the habitat suitability curve, obtained from measured data of brown trout adult individuals collected in several river basins across the USA. The Top-kriging prediction model is then employed to assess the spatial correlation between upstream and downstream habitat suitability indices. The study area is the Metauro River basin, located in the central part of Italy (Marche region), for which both water depth and streamflow data were collected. The present analysis focuses on discharge values corresponding to the 0.1-, 0.5-, 0.9-empirical quantiles derived from flow-duration curves available for seven gauging stations located within the study area, for which three different suitability indices (i.e. ψ10, ψ50 and ψ90) are evaluated. The results of this preliminary analysis are encouraging showing Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies equal to 0.52, 0.65, and 0.69, respectively.

  13. Grandparents’ Stories of Family Life After Donor Conception (Parents of heterosexual couples with children conceived using donor sperm or eggs)

    OpenAIRE

    Burke, Hazel; Nordqvist, Petra; Smart, Carol

    2015-01-01

    This leaflet is written for the parents of heterosexual couples who have, or are planning, children using donor conception. It is based on many hours of research interviews, during which parents and grandparents of donor-conceived children told usabout their experiences of family life after donor conception.This leaflet is one of a series of four, written for parents and grandparents with donor-conceived children. They are based on research from the Relative Strangers project.

  14. How to optimize the lung donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sales, Gabriele; Costamagna, Andrea; Fanelli, Vito; Boffini, Massimo; Pugliese, Francesco; Mascia, Luciana; Brazzi, Luca

    2018-02-01

    Over the last two decades, lung transplantation emerged as the standard of care for patients with advanced and terminal lung disease. Despite the increment in lung transplantation rates, in 2016 the overall mortality while on waiting list in Italy reached 10%, whereas only 39% of the wait-list patients were successfully transplanted. A number of approaches, including protective ventilatory strategy, accurate management of fluid balance, and administration of a hormonal resuscitation therapy, have been reported to improve lung donor performance before organ retrieval. These approaches, in conjunction with the use of ex-vivo lung perfusion technique contributed to expand the lung donor pool, without affecting the harvest of other organs and the outcomes of lung recipients. However, the efficacy of issues related to the ex-vivo lung perfusion technique, such as the optimal ventilation strategy, the ischemia-reperfusion induced lung injury management, the prophylaxis of germs transmission from donor to recipient and the application of targeted pharmacologic therapies to treat specific donor lung injuries are still to be explored. The main objective of the present review is to summarize the "state-of-art" strategies to optimize the donor lungs and to present the actual role of ex-vivo lung perfusion in the process of lung transplant. Moreover, different approaches about the technique reported in literature and several issues that are under investigation to treat specific donor lung injury will be discussed.

  15. Health Literacy of Living Kidney Donors and Kidney Transplant Recipients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dageforde, Leigh Anne; Petersen, Alec W.; Feurer, Irene D.; Cavanaugh, Kerri L.; Harms, Kelly A.; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M.; Moore, Derek E.

    2015-01-01

    Background Health literacy (HL) may be a mediator for known socioeconomic and racial disparities in living kidney donation. Methods We evaluated the associations of patient and demographic characteristics with HL in living kidney donors (LD), living donor kidney transplant recipients (LDR), and deceased donor recipients (DDR) in a single center retrospective review of patients undergoing kidney donation or transplantation from September 2010 to July 2012. HL and demographic data were collected. HL was assessed via the Short Literacy Survey (SLS) comprising three self-reported screening questions scored using the 5-point Likert scale [low (3-8), moderate (9-14), high (15)]. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to test factors associated with lower HL. Results The sample included 360 adults (105 LD, 103 LDR, 152 DDR; 46±14 years; 70% white; 56% male; 14±3 years of education). HL scores were skewed (49% high, 41% moderate, 10% low). The distribution of HL categories differed significantly among groups (p=0.019). After controlling for age, race, gender, education and a race-education interaction term, DDR were more likely to have moderate or low HL than LDR (OR 1.911; 95%CI 1.096, 3.332; p=0.022) Conclusions Overall, living donors had high HL. The distribution of low, moderate and high HL differed significantly between LD, DDR and LDR. DDR had a higher likelihood of having low HL than LDR. Screening kidney transplant candidates and donors for lower HL may identify barriers to living donation. Future interventions addressing HL may be important to increase living donation and reduce disparities. PMID:24573114

  16. Quality of life of elderly live kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klop, Karel W J; Dols, Leonienke F C; Weimar, Willem; Dooper, Ine M; IJzermans, Jan N M; Kok, Niels F M

    2013-10-15

    Expanding the use of elderly live donors may help meet the demand for kidney transplants. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of the surgical procedure on the quality of life (QOL) of elderly donors compared with younger donors. Alongside three prospective studies (two randomized) running between May 2001 and October 2010, we asked 501 live donors to fill out the Short Form-36 questionnaire preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. We defined live donors 60 years or older as elderly. Between-group analyses regarding QOL were adjusted for baseline values and gender. One hundred thirty-five donors were older and 366 donors were younger than 60 years. The response rate was high, with 87% at 12 months postoperatively. Elderly donors less often scored as American Society of Anaesthesiology classification 1 (60% vs. 81%; Pvitality" (5 points; P=0.008). At 3 months, "bodily pain" (3 points, P=0.04) and "role physical" (8 points, P=0.02) were still in favor of the older group. At 6 and 12 months, "physical function" was in favor of the younger group (3 and 5 points, respectively; P=0.04 and P<0.001). This study demonstrates that elderly donors recover relatively fast. The perspective of excellent postoperative QOL may help convince elderly individuals to donate.

  17. Phylogenetic analysis of TCE-dechlorinating consortia enriched on a variety of electron donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeborn, Ryan A; West, Kimberlee A; Bhupathiraju, Vishvesh K; Chauhan, Sadhana; Rahm, Brian G; Richardson, Ruth E; Alvarez-Cohen, Lisa

    2005-11-01

    Two rapidly fermented electron donors, lactate and methanol, and two slowly fermented electron donors, propionate and butyrate, were selected for enrichment studies to evaluate the characteristics of anaerobic microbial consortia that reductively dechlorinate TCE to ethene. Each electron donor enrichment subculture demonstrated the ability to dechlorinate TCE to ethene through several serial transfers. Microbial community analyses based upon 16S rDNA, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and clone library/sequencing, were performed to assess major changes in microbial community structure associated with electron donors capable of stimulating reductive dechlorination. Results demonstrated that five phylogenic subgroups or genera of bacteria were present in all consortia, including Dehalococcoides sp., low G+C Gram-positives (mostly Clostridium and Eubacterium sp.), Bacteroides sp., Citrobacter sp., and delta Proteobacteria (mostly Desulfovibrio sp.). Phylogenetic association indicates that only minor shifts in the microbial community structure occurred between the four alternate electron donor enrichments and the parent consortium. Inconsistent detection of Dehalococcoides spp. in clone libraries and T-RFLP of enrichment subcultures was resolved using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). Q-PCR with primers specific to Dehalococcoides 16S rDNA resulted in positive detection of this species in all enrichments. Our results suggest that TCE-dechlorinating consortia can be stably maintained on a variety of electron donors and that quantities of Dehalococcoides cells detected with Dehalococcoides specific 16S rDNA primer/probe sets do not necessarily correlate well with solvent degradation rates.

  18. Risk Factors for Transfusion Transmissible Infections Elicited on Post Donation Counselling in Blood Donors: Need to Strengthen Pre-donation Counselling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachdev, Suchet; Mittal, Kshitija; Patidar, Gopal; Marwaha, Neelam; Sharma, Ratti Ram; Duseja, Ajay Kumar; Chawla, Yogesh Kumar; Arora, Sunil Kumar

    2015-09-01

    Donor notification and counselling transforms the legal and ethical requirement of disclosure of transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) in a blood donor into practice. The present study was done to assess the response to the disclosure of TTI reactivity results in blood donors, assess the risk factors in blood donors and follow the compliance of the disclosure and clinical referral in a population of blood donors who are difficult to convince that they may be harbouring infections apparently in a healthy state today but with possible clinical disease consequences in the future. A retrospective study was conducted from April 2011 to November 2012. Screening was done using third generation ELISA kits used according to the manufacturer's directions; these kits were approved for use in blood banks by the Drug Controller General of India. Those testing repeat reactive were referred for further confirmation and management. The total number of TTI reactive donors was 787 (0.93 %, N = 83,865). The observed response rate in the present study is 21.6 % (167, N = 787). The risk factors for acquiring infections in TTI reactive donors were statistically significant history of high risk behaviour (20.3 %) for human immunodeficiency virus infection and history of jaundice in themselves, family or close contacts (16.1 %) for hepatitis B virus infection. One hundred and ten (65.8 %) of the referred donors were on outpatient clinical care when post-referral follow up was conducted. The study emphasises on continuing sensitization of blood donation camp organisers to the need of privacy during blood donor selection. The study also stresses the need to strengthen the pre-donation counselling at outdoor blood donation at the same time raise awareness amongst blood donors about the importance of post-donation counselling and follow up.

  19. Living unrelated donors in kidney transplants: better long-term results than with non-HLA-identical living related donors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humar, A; Durand, B; Gillingham, K; Payne, W D; Sutherland, D E; Matas, A J

    2000-05-15

    Given the severe organ shortage and the documented superior results obtained with living (vs. cadaver) donor kidney transplants, we have adopted a very aggressive policy for the use of living donors. Currently, we make thorough attempts to locate a living related donor (LRD) or a living unrelated donor (LURD) before proceeding with a cadaver transplant. We compared the results of our LURD versus LRD transplants to determine any significant difference in outcome. Between 1/1/84 and 6/30/98, we performed 711 adult kidney transplants with non-HLA-identical living donors. Of these, 595 procedures used LRDs and 116 used LURDs. Immunosuppression for both groups was cyclosporine-based, although LURD recipients received 5-7 days of induction therapy (antilymphocyte globulin or antithymocyte globulin), whereas LRD recipients did not. LURD recipients tended to be older, to have inferior HLA matching, and to have older donors than did the LRD recipients (all factors potentially associated with decreased graft survival). Short-term results, including initial graft function and incidence of acute rejection, were similar in the two groups. LURD recipients had a slightly higher incidence of cytomegalovirus disease (P=NS). We found no difference in patient and graft survival rates. However, the incidence of biopsy-proven chronic rejection was significantly lower among LURD recipients (16.7% for LRD recipients and 10.0% for LURD recipients at 5 years posttransplant; P=0.05). LRD recipients also had a greater incidence of late (>6 months posttransplant) acute rejection episodes than did the LURD recipients (8.6% vs. 2.6%, P=0.04). The exact reason for these findings is unknown. Although LURD recipients have poorer HLA matching and older donors, their patient and graft survival rates are equivalent to those of non-HLA-identical LRD recipients. The incidence of biopsy-proven chronic rejection is lower in LURD transplants. Given this finding and the superior results of living donor (vs

  20. The use of modern dressings in managing split-thickness skin graft donor sites: a single-centre randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazanavičius, M; Cepas, A; Kolaityte, V; Simoliuniene, R; Rimdeika, R

    2017-06-02

    To identify the most appropriate, most suitable and most efficient dressing for split-thickness skin graft (STSG) donor sites. Comparing the wound healing rate, pain severity and duration, as well as the dressing change frequency in four randomised patient groups. A single-centre non-blinded randomised controlled trial was carried out during 2010-2014. All patients treated for skin defects/lesions (due to burns, trauma or ulcers) using STSG were included in the study. All patients were randomly allocated in four different donor site treatment groups; polyurethane (PU group, Mepilex); polyurethane with silicone membrane (PUSM group; Mepilex border,); transparent, breathable film (TBF group; Mepitel film) and cotton gauze dressings (CG group) using Excel 2007. We evaluated: wound healing time, pain severity and duration, the frequency of dressing change, donor site re-epithelialisation, donor site complications (signs of inflammation or infection). Patients were assessed on postoperative days: 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21. After random allocation of study participants the number of patients in each group were: PU group n=25; PUSM group n=24; TBF group n=24; CG group n=25. The groups were homogenous according to gender, age, main pathology, donor site area and wound size. The STSG donor site healing time varied from 9 to 21 days. The mean healing time in the CG group was 14.76 days, whereas in the PU, PUSM, and TBF group it was significantly shorter; 12.25 days, 11.63 days and 10 days, respectively. Patients in the TBF group demonstrated the most rapid healing time with 66.7% of STSG donor sites healed by postoperative day 9. The pain duration interval in modern dressing groups (PU, PUSM and TBF groups) was 0-9 days, whereas it was 6-18 day in the CS group. Pain intensity mean on postoperative day 1 was 2.21 in the PU group; 1.67 in the PUSM group; 1.46 in the TBF group and 3.04 in the CG group. The average pain duration in Group PU, PUSM, and TBF was 4.08 days; 2

  1. [Pediatric liver transplantation and related live donor. Technical and ethical considerations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boillot, O; Dawahra, M; Porcheron, J; Houssin, D; Boucaud, C; Gille, D; Kopp, C; Bodnar, D; Sann, L; Paliard, P

    1993-01-01

    With improved results of liver transplantation, the number of candidates is increasing. However the scarcity of suitable grafts from cadaveric donors remains a limitation. In spite of the use of full size or reduced size grafts or partial grafts from split livers, some children still die while waiting for liver transplantation. We describe a successful orthotopic liver transplantation in a 10 months old female using the left lateral lobe (segments II and III) from her 27 years old father. The child suffered from biliary atresia, her condition was deteriorating with intractable ascites and increasing jaundice. The father asked us to give a part of his own liver to his daughter. The concept of this innovative therapy had already been submitted to a research-ethics consultation which gave us favorable conclusions. After careful donor evaluation, the left lateral lobe was harvested on July 22, 1992, including the left hepatic artery, left portal vein and left hepatic vein; hepatic artery for segment IV, which arose from the right structures, was preserved, The graft was immediately transplanted orthotopically after recipient total hepatectomy with inferior vena cava preservation. Cold ischemia time was 1 hour and 45 minutes, revascularization of the graft was homogeneous from the very beginning and its early function was excellent. Thirteen days after the operation, the donor was discharged in good condition. The child was reoperated at day 9 for a small biliary leak originating from the cut surface of the liver. After resolution of an episode of rejection and an intra-abdominal abscess, the child was discharged in good health with normal liver function 1 month post-transplant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  2. Improving Photoconductance of Fluorinated Donors with Fluorinated Acceptors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garner, Logan E.; Larson, Bryon; Oosterhout, Stefan; Owczarczyk, Zbyslaw; Olson, Dana C.; Kopidakis, Nikos; Boltalina, Olga V.; Strauss, Steven H.; Braunecker, Wade A.

    2016-11-21

    This work investigates the influence of fluorination of both donor and acceptor materials on the generation of free charge carriers in small molecule donor/fullerene acceptor BHJ OPV active layers. A fluorinated and non-fluorinated small molecule analogue were synthesized and their optoelectronic properties characterized. The intrinsic photoconductance of blends of these small molecule donors was investigated using time-resolved microwave conductivity. Blends of the two donor molecules with a traditional non-fluorinated fullerene (PC70BM) as well as a fluorinated fullerene (C60(CF3)2-1) were investigated using 5% and 50% fullerene loading. We demonstrate for the first time that photoconductance in a 50:50 donor:acceptor BHJ blend using a fluorinated fullerene can actually be improved relative to a traditional non-fluorinated fullerene by fluorinating the donor molecule as well.

  3. 'No daddy', 'A kind of daddy': words used by donor conceived children and (aspiring) parents to refer to the sperm donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provoost, Veerle; Bernaerdt, Jodie; Van Parys, Hanna; Buysse, Ann; De Sutter, Petra; Pennings, Guido

    2018-04-01

    Research has shown that the recipients of donor sperm can experience difficulties finding appropriate language to refer to the donor. Based on two qualitative analysis techniques, namely word count and empirical discourse analysis, we studied the words used to refer to the donor in heterosexual and lesbian (aspiring) parents and in donor conceived children. Findings show that the words used in these households are highly diverse and have at least four different interlinked functions: (1) to position the donor in relation to the nuclear family; (2) to safeguard the role of the social parent; (3) to clarify family structure; and (4) to present a positive picture of the donor. Both parents and children consciously reflect on what words to use to refer to the donor. Although parents try to keep words like 'father' and 'daddy' out of the family narrative, children use these words. These findings show that it is important for healthcare personnel and policy makers to reflect on the careful use of terminology when they address questions around sperm donation because the terminology invokes specific meanings that have an effect on how the recipients and their children perceive the role of the donor.

  4. CMV infection after transplant from cord blood compared to other alternative donors: the importance of donor-negative CMV serostatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikulska, Małgorzata; Raiola, Anna Maria; Bruzzi, Paolo; Varaldo, Riccardo; Annunziata, Silvana; Lamparelli, Teresa; Frassoni, Francesco; Tedone, Elisabetta; Galano, Barbara; Bacigalupo, Andrea; Viscoli, Claudio

    2012-01-01

    Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease are important complications after hematopoietic stem cell transplant, particularly after transplant from alternative donors. Allogeneic cord blood transplantation (CBT) is being increasingly used, but immune recovery may be delayed. The aim of this study was to compare CMV infection in CBT with transplants from unrelated or mismatched related donors, from now on defined as alternative donors. A total of 165 consecutive transplants were divided in 2 groups: (1) alternative donors transplants (n = 85) and (2) CBT recipients (n = 80). Donor and recipient (D/R) CMV serostatus were recorded. The incidence of CMV infection, its severity, timing, and outcome were compared. Median follow-up was 257 days (1-1328). CMV infection was monitored by CMV antigenemia and expressed as CMV Ag positive cell/2 × 10(5) polymorphonuclear blood cells. There was a trend toward a higher cumulative incidence of CMV infection among CBT than alternative donor transplant recipients (64% vs 51%, P = .12). The median time to CMV reactivation was 35 days, and was comparable in the 2 groups (P = .8). The maximum number of CMV-positive cells was similar in the 2 groups (11 versus 16, P = .2). The time interval between the first and the last positive CMV antigenemia was almost 4 times longer in CBT compared with alternative donor transplants (109 vs 29 days, respectively, P = .008). The incidence of late CMV infection was also higher in CBT (62% vs 24%, P donor transplants, whereas no difference in mortality was observed. The duration and incidence of late CMV infection were similar when D-/R+ CBT were compared with D-/R+ alternative donor transplants. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Analysis of adverse events and predisposing factors in voluntary and replacement whole blood donors: A study from north India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveen Agnihotri

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Lack of awareness and community motivation, compounded with fragmented blood transfusion services in our country, Often leads to shortage of blood. Donor recruitment and retention are essential for ensuring adequate blood supply. However, adverse events (AEs in donors have a negative impact on donor return. Aims and Objectives: The present study was aimed to assess the frequency of AEs in whole blood donors and analyze the predisposing factors for AEs. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on allogeneic whole blood donors over a period of 14 months, i.e., from January 2002 to February 2003. A total of 37,896 donors were monitored for any AEs: 22587 (59.6% were voluntary donors (VD and 15,309 (40.4% were replacement donors (RD. Results: Overall reaction rate was 2.5% with vasovagal reactions constituting 63.5% and hematomas 35.0% of all reactions. Vasovagal reactions showed a significant association with young age, lower weight, first time donation status, female gender, and nature of blood donation camps. Amongst male donors, RDs had more reactions (P=0.03 than VDs. Majority of donors (85% with vasovagal reactions admitted to some fear or anxiety prior to donation. Hematoma formation occurred significantly more when less trained staff performed phlebotomy. Conclusion: Donor safety is an essential prerequisite to increase voluntary blood donation. AE analysis helps in identifying the blood donors at risk of donor reactions and adopting appropriate donor motivational strategies, pre-donation counseling, and care during and after donation.

  6. Factors affecting the serological testing of cadaveric donor cornea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anuradha Raj

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serological profile of the eye donors and to study the influence of various factors on serological test results. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted, and data of 509 donors were reviewed from the records of eye bank from December 2012 to June 2017. Various details of donors analyzed included the age, sex of the donor, cause of death, source of tissue, time since blood collection after death, macroscopic appearance of blood sample, and details of discarded tissues. Serological examination of blood was performed for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV, venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL, and serology reports reactive or nonreactive were analyzed. Results: Among the 509 donors, 295 (58% were male, and 420 (82.50% belonged to age group ≥60 years. Most donors (354, 69.5% died due to cardiac arrest. Macroscopically, sera were normal in the majority of 488 (95.9% cases. Among 509 donors, 475 (93.3% were nonreactive, 12 (2.4% donors were found to be reactive to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg, and 1 (0.2% was reactive to HCV, but no donor serology was reactive to HIV or VDRL. Twenty-one (4.12% donors' sera were not fit for serological testing. Among all donors, 475 (93.32% donors were accepted and 34 (6.67% were rejected or discarded on the basis of serological testing. Cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influenced the serological results in a highly significant manner (P = 0.00. Acceptance or rejection of the donor was significantly influenced by the serological results of the donor (P = 0.00. Conclusion: The seroprevalence among eye donor for HBsAg and HCV was 12 (2.4% and 1 (0.2%, respectively. Factors such as cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influence the serological results. Time since blood collection or sampling will not show any impact on viral serological results if postmortem sampling

  7. Socio-demographic characteristics of Danish blood donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burgdorf, Kristoffer Sølvsten; Simonsen, Jacob; Sundby, Anna

    2017-01-01

    Background: Blood transfusion is an essential component of a modern healthcare system. Because knowledge about blood donor demography may inform the design of strategies for donor recruitment and retention, we used nationwide registers to characterize the entire population of blood donors...... in 2010. The association between sociodemographic characteristics and blood donor prevalence was examined using regression models. Results: The overall prevalence of blood donation was 5.4% among both women and men. The age-specific prevalence of blood donation peaked at 25 years of age (6.8%) for women...... and 30 years of age (5.7%) for men. Children of any age were associated with lower prevalence of blood donation among women, while the opposite was seen for men. Middle to high income groups, but not the highest income group, had fourfold higher donor prevalence than the lowest income group (6...

  8. Higher refusal rates for organ donation among older potential donors in the Netherlands: impact of the donor register and relatives.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leiden, H.A. van; Jansen, N.E.; Haase-Kromwijk, B.J.; Hoitsma, A.J.

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The availability of donor organs is considerably reduced by relatives refusing donation after death. There is no previous large-scale evaluation of the influence of the Donor Register (DR) consultation and the potential donor's age on this refusal in The Netherlands. METHODS: This study

  9. Suitability of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a feed batch operating bio-electrochemical system; Idoneidad del agua de lavado de aceites de oliva como donador de electrones en un sistema alimentado por lotes bioelectroquímico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fermoso, F.G.; Fernández-Rodríguez, M.J.; Jiménez-Rodríguez, A.; Serrano, A.; Borja, R.

    2017-07-01

    Olive oil washing water derived from the two-phase manufacturing process was assessed as an electron donor in a bio-electrochemical system (BES) operating at 35 ºC. Start-up was carried out by using acetate as a substrate for the BES, reaching a potential of around +680 mV. After day 54, BES was fed with olive oil washing water. The degradation of olive oil washing water in the BES generated a maximum voltage potential of around +520 mV and a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency of 41%. However, subsequent loads produced a decrease in the COD removal, while current and power density diminished greatly. The deterioration of these parameters could be a consequence of the accumulation of recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds, such as phenols. These results demonstrated that the use of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a BES is feasible, although it has to be further investigated in order to make it more suitable for a real application. [Spanish] El agua de lavado del aceite de oliva procedente del proceso de elaboración en dos fases fue utilizada como donador de electrones en un Sistema Bioelectroquímico (BES) operado a 35ºC. Se realizó una etapa de arranque del sistema mediante alimentación con acetato, alcanzando un potencial de referencia de +680 mV. Tras 54 días, el sistema se alimentó con agua de lavado de aceite, generando un potencial máximo de +520 mV y una eliminación de materia del 41%, en demanda química de oxígeno. Sin embargo, cargas subsecuentes conllevaron una bajada en la eliminación de materia, mientras que la densidad de corriente y de potencia disminuyeron ostensiblemente. El empeoramiento de estos parámetros puede deberse a la acumulación de compuestos recalcitrantes o inhibidores, como fenoles. Por tanto, el uso del agua de lavado de aceite de oliva en un BES es factible, aunque es necesario llevar a cabo nuevas investigaciones que hagan más atractiva su aplicación a escala real.

  10. Donor Safety in Haemapheresis: Development of an Internet-Based Registry for Comprehensive Assessment of Adverse Events from Healthy Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heuft, Hans-Gert; Fischer, Eike; Weingand, Tina; Burkhardt, Thomas; Leitner, Gerda; Baume, Hagen; Schmidt, Jörg-Peter; Buser, Andreas; Fauchald, Gabriele; Reinicke Voigt, Ute; Mansouri-Taleghani, Behrouz

    2017-06-01

    Currently, there is an extensive but highly inconsistent body of literature regarding donor adverse events (AEs) in haemapheresis. As the reports diverge with respect to types and grading of AEs, apheresis procedures and machines, the range of haemapheresis-related AEs varies widely from about 0.03% to 6.6%. The German Society for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohaematology (DGTI) formed a 'Haemapheresis Vigilance Working Party' (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Hämapheresevigilanz; AGHV) to create an on-line registry for comprehensive and comparable AE assessment with all available apheresis devices in all types of preparative haemapheresis: plasmapheresis (PLS), plateletpheresis (PLT), red blood cell apheresis, all kind of leukaphereses (autologous/allogeneic blood stem cell apheresis, granulocyte apheresis, lymphocyte/monocyte apheresis) and all possible types of multi-component apheresis. To ensure the comparability of the data, the AGHV adopted the 'Standard for Surveillance of Complications Related to Blood Donation' from the International Society for Blood Transfusion in cooperation with the International Haemovigilance Network (IHN) and the American Association of Blood Banks for AE acquisition and automated evaluation. The registry is embedded in a prospective observational multi-centre study with a study period of 7 years. A preliminary evaluation encompassed the time period from January, 2012 to December, 2015. During this time, the system proved to be safe and stable. Out of approximately 345,000 haemaphereses 16,477 AEs were reported (4.9%) from 20 participating centres. The majority of AEs occurred in PLSs (63%), followed by PLT (34.5%) and SC (2.2%). Blood access injuries (BAI) accounted for about 55% of the supplied AEs, whereas citrate toxicity symptoms, vasovagal reactions and technical events (e.g. disposable leakages, software failures) rather equally affected haemaphereses at 8-15%. Out of 12,348 finalized AEs, 8,759 (70.1%) were associated with a procedure

  11. The Dirt on the Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Mary Margaret

    1996-01-01

    A discussion of donor records in college and university fund-raising programs looks at a variety of issues, including who sees them (administrators, donors, volunteers, and members of the legal profession), how access to them is controlled, and what is kept in them. Suggestions are offered for managing such records, and the experiences of a number…

  12. Assessment of Irrigation Water Quality and Suitability for Irrigation in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A number of factors like geology, soil, effluents, sewage disposal and other environmental conditions in which the water stays or moves and interacts are among the factors that affect the quality of irrigation water. This study was conducted to determine the quality and suitability of different water sources for irrigation purpose ...

  13. Predictors of Donor Heart Utilization for Transplantation in United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trivedi, Jaimin R; Cheng, Allen; Gallo, Michele; Schumer, Erin M; Massey, H Todd; Slaughter, Mark S

    2017-06-01

    Optimum use of donor organs can increase the reach of the transplantation therapy to more patients on waiting list. The heart transplantation (HTx) has remained stagnant in United States over the past decade at approximately 2,500 HTx annually. With the use of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) deceased donor database (DCD) we aimed to evaluate donor factors predicting donor heart utilization. UNOS DCD was queried from 2005 to 2014 to identify total number of donors who had at least one of their organs donated. We then generated a multivariate logistic regression model using various demographic and clinical donor factors to predict donor heart use for HTx. Donor hearts not recovered due to consent or family issues or recovered for nontransplantation reasons were excluded from the analysis. During the study period there were 80,782 donors of which 23,606 (29%) were used for HTx, and 38,877 transplants (48%) were not used after obtaining consent because of poor organ function (37%), donor medical history (13%), and organ refused by all programs (5%). Of all, 22,791 donors with complete data were used for logistic regression (13,389 HTx, 9,402 no-HTx) which showed significant predictors of donor heart use for HTx. From this model we assigned probability of donor heart use and identified 3,070 donors with HTx-eligible unused hearts for reasons of poor organ function (28%), organ refused by all programs (15%), and recipient not located (9%). An objective system based on donor factors can predict donor heart use for HTx and may help increase availability of hearts for transplantation from existing donor pool. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Optimization of IVF pregnancy outcomes with donor spermatozoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jeff G; Douglas, Nataki C; Prosser, Robert; Kort, Daniel; Choi, Janet M; Sauer, Mark V

    2009-03-01

    To identify risk factors for suboptimal IVF outcomes using insemination with donor spermatozoa and to define a lower threshold that may signal a conversion to fertilization by ICSI rather than insemination. Retrospective, age-matched, case-control study of women undergoing non-donor oocyte IVF cycles using either freshly ejaculated (N=138) or cryopreserved donor spermatozoa (N=69). Associations between method of fertilization, semen sample parameters, and pregnancy rates were analyzed. In vitro fertilization of oocytes with donor spermatozoa by insemination results in equivalent fertilization and pregnancy rates compared to those of freshly ejaculated spermatozoa from men with normal semen analyses when the post-processing motility is greater than or equal to 88%. IVF by insemination with donor spermatozoa when the post-processing motility is less than 88% is associated with a 5-fold reduction in pregnancy rates when compared to those of donor spermatozoa above this motility threshold. When the post-processing donor spermatozoa motility is low, fertilization by ICSI is associated with significantly higher pregnancy rates compared to those of insemination. While ICSI does not need to be categorically instituted when using donor spermatozoa in IVF, patients should be counseled that conversion from insemination to ICSI may be recommended based on low post-processing motility.

  15. STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF BLOOD DONORS TOWARDS BLOOD DONATION IN BIJAPUR DISTRICT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Himanshu Dilip

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Blood is the living force of our body and there is no substitute for it. It can only be replaced through blood donation. Blood donation can save millions of lives. Demand for safe blood is increasing every day because of increase in population, increased life-expectancy and urbanisation, trauma cases, major surgeries, patients with regular transfusion requirement like cases of thalassaemia, haemophilia and chemotherapy. To increase blood donor recruitment and retention, the level of knowledge and attitude of blood donors towards blood donation must be known as this affects donor’s decision of blood donation. This information helps for tailoring targeted programs and campaigns in order to recruit more people as regular voluntary blood donors. OBJECTIVE To assess the level of knowledge and attitude regarding blood donation amongst blood donors in Bijapur district, Karnataka. MATERIALS AND METHODS Blood donors registered for blood donation in B.L.D.E. University’s Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre’s Blood Bank, in Bijapur district were included in this study. The data was collected by filling a self-administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to all the donors ready to participate in the study. Questionnaires were distributed at the time of registration and were collected after filling during the refreshment period. Also one-on-one individual interviews were conducted to know about the blood donation experience and willingness of donor for future donation. A scoring mechanism was used to understand the level of knowledge, a score of one was given for each correct response and zero for wrong and unaware response. RESULTS In this study, it was found that 61% of the participants had average knowledge [Cumulative score 4-6], 34% of the participants had good knowledge [Cumulative score 7-8] and 5% of participants had poor knowledge [Cumulative score 0-3] about the different

  16. Dengue antibodies in blood donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribas-Silva, Rejane Cristina; Eid, Andressa Ahmad

    2012-01-01

    Dengue is an urban arbovirus whose etiologic agent is a virus of the genus Flavorius with four distinct antigen serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4) that is transmitted to humans through the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The Campo Mourão region in Brazil is endemic for dengue fever. OBTECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies specific to the four serotypes of dengue in donors of the blood donor service in the city of Campo Mourão. Epidemiological records were evaluated and 4 mL of peripheral blood from 213 blood donors were collected in tubes without anticoagulant. Serum was then obtained and immunochromatographic tests were undertaken (Imuno-Rápido Dengue IgM/IgG(TM)). Individuals involved in the study answered a social and epidemiological questionnaire on data which included age, gender and diagnosis of dengue. Only three (1.4%) of the 213 blood tests were positive for IgG anti-dengue antibodies. No donors with IgM antibody, which identifies acute infection, were identified. The results of the current analysis show that the introduction of quantitative or molecular serological methods to determine the presence of anti-dengue antibodies or the detection of the dengue virus in blood donors in endemic regions should be established so that the quality of blood transfusions is guaranteed.

  17. Are live kidney donors at risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamran, T.; Zaheer, K.; Hussain, S.W.; Zahid, K.H.; Akhtar, M.S.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To share experience of live donor nephrectomy (including intraoperative variables, morbidity and ethical aspects) and to give an overview of surgical technique being practiced. Results: Majority of the donors (58.5%) were 31-50 years old and 70.6% were first-degree relatives. Left sided kidney was taken in 96.5% cases. Mean operative time was 145 minutes. Mean renal warm ischemia time from cross clamping of renal vessels to cold perfusion on the bench was 1.5 minutes per operation. Operative complications encountered were injury to lumbar veins in 5.1 % cases, slipping of satinsky clamp on vena cava stump in 1.7 % and accidental pleural damage in 5.1 % cases. Postoperative morbid complications found were urinary retention in 6.4 % cases, epididymo-orchitis in 1.7 %, prolonged lymph drain in 3.4 %, stitch infection in 1.7 % and prolonged wound discomfort in 5.1 % patients. Conclusions: Open live donor nepherectomy appears to be safe procedure for harvesting kidney. Related or emotionally related donors must be the choice in all cases. Non-related donors may be entertained in selected cases despite the probability of organ vending in our society. (author)

  18. Donor insemination: eugenic and feminist implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, F A

    2001-09-01

    One concern regarding developments in genetics is that, when techniques such as genetic engineering become safe and affordable, people will use them for positive eugenics: to "improve" their offspring by enpowering them with exceptional qualities. Another is whether new reproductive technologies are being used to improve the condition of women or as the tools of a patriarchal system that appropriates female functions to itself and exploits women to further its own ends. Donor insemination is relevant to both of these issues. The degree to which people have used donor insemination in the past for positive eugenic purposes may give some insight into the likelihood of developing technologies being so used in the future. Donor insemination provides women with the opportunity to reproduce with only the most remote involvement of a man. To what degree do women take advantage of this to liberate themselves from male dominance? Through questionnaires and interviews, women who have used donor insemination disclosed their criteria for selecting sperm donors. The results are analyzed for the prevalence of positive eugenic criteria in the selection process and women's attitudes toward minimizing the male role in reproduction.

  19. Positive serology for viral hepatitis and donor self-exclusion in Southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia De Luca Maccarini

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Despite the great advances in serological testing for transfusion-transmitted infections, the selection of blood donors by blood bank operators remains the only way to avoid transmission within the testing window period. Part of this selection is the self-exclusion form, on which the donors can exclude their blood from donation without any explanation. This study assessed the clinical and epidemiological characteristics related to positivity for viral hepatitis and to the use of the confidential self-exclusion (CSE form. Methods This transversal study analyzed the data collected from blood donors' files in a hospital in Southern Brazil. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified the clinical and epidemiological variables related to positive serologies of viral hepatitis and to whether the donor was self-excluded. Results Of the 3,180 donors included in this study, 0.1% tested positive for HBsAg, 2.1% for anti-HBc, and 0.9% for anti-HCV. When the 93 donors with positive serologies for viral hepatitis were compared with those who were negative, a greater proportion of the positive serology group was found to have had a history of blood transfusions (OR=4.908; 95%CI=1.628 - 14.799; p<0.01, had repeatedly donated (OR=2.147; 95%CI=1.236 - 3.729; p<0.01, and used the CSE form for self-exclusion (OR=7.139; 95%CI=2.045 - 24.923; p<0.01. No variables were independently associated with self-exclusion. Conclusions A history of blood transfusion, repeated donations, and self-exclusion are factors that should be considered during viral hepatitis screenings in blood banks.

  20. Donor funding for family planning: levels and trends between 2003 and 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grollman, Christopher; Cavallaro, Francesca L; Duclos, Diane; Bakare, Victoria; Martínez Álvarez, Melisa; Borghi, Josephine

    2018-05-01

    The International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 set targets for donor funding to support family planning programmes, and recent initiatives such as FP2020 have renewed focus on the need for adequate funding to rights-based family planning. Disbursements supporting family planning disaggregated by donor, recipient country and year are not available for recent years. We estimate international donor funding for family planning in 2003-13, the period covering the introduction of reproductive health targets to the Millennium Development Goals and up to the beginning of FP2020, and compare funding to unmet need for family planning in recipient countries. We used the dataset of donor disbursements to support reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health developed by the Countdown to 2015 based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Creditor Reporting System. We assessed levels and trends in disbursements supporting family planning in the period 2003-13 and compared this to unmet need for family planning. Between 2003 and 2013, disbursements supporting family planning rose from under $400 m prior to 2008 to $886 m in 2013. More than two thirds of disbursements came from the USA. There was substantial year-on-year variation in disbursement value to some recipient countries. Disbursements have become more concentrated among recipient countries with higher national levels of unmet need for family planning. Annual disbursements of donor funding supporting family planning are far short of projected and estimated levels necessary to address unmet need for family planning. The reimposition of the US Global Gag Rule will precipitate an even greater shortfall if other donors and recipient countries do not find substantial alternative sources of funding.

  1. Shallow hydrogen-related donors in silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartung, J.; Weber, J.

    1993-01-01

    Photothermal ionization spectroscopy on neutron-irradiated and subsequently hydrogen-plasma-treated silicon reveals the existence of new shallow donors. The binding energies of the observed effective-mass-like donors are between 34 and 53 meV. The optical dipole transitions of the different donors are shifted towards higher energies by ΔE=0.1--0.2 cm -1 , when deuterium is used in the plasma instead of hydrogen. This isotope shift of the optical dipole transitions between the electronic levels of the defects is direct proof of the incorporation of hydrogen in these defects

  2. Donor policy rules and aid effectiveness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars

    2008-01-01

    The present paper examines the macroeconomic impact of aid, by introducing endogenous aid allocations into a neoclassical growth framework. On this basis it is shown that donor policies can have important implications for the trajectory of recipients' GDP per capita. Depending on specific donor...... policy choices, aid disbursements may lead to faster transitional growth, stagnation or cyclical growth. Moreover, the analysis also suggests that donor policies may be part of the reason why foreign aid is not found to be uniformly effective in raising long-run productivity across recipients...

  3. A Re-evaluation of Discarded Deceased Donor Kidneys in the UK: Are Usable Organs Still Being Discarded?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittal, Shruti; Adamusiak, Anna; Horsfield, Catherine; Loukopoulos, Ioannis; Karydis, Nikolaos; Kessaris, Nicos; Drage, Martin; Olsburgh, Jonathon; Watson, Christopher Je; Callaghan, Chris J

    2017-07-01

    A significant proportion of procured deceased donor kidneys are subsequently discarded. The UK Kidney Fast-Track Scheme (KFTS) was introduced in 2012, enabling kidneys at risk of discard to be simultaneously offered to participating centers. We undertook an analysis of discarded kidneys to determine if unnecessary organ discard was still occurring since the KFTS was introduced. Between April and June 2015, senior surgeons independently inspected 31 consecutive discarded kidneys from throughout the United Kingdom. All kidneys were biopsied. Organs were categorized as usable, possibly usable pending histology, or not usable for implantation. After histology reports were available, final assessments of usability were made. There were 19 donors (6 donations after brain death, 13 donations after circulatory death), with a median (range) donor age of 67 (29-83) years and Kidney Donor Profile Index of 93 (19-100). Reasons for discard were variable. Only 3 discarded kidneys had not entered the KFTS. After initial assessment postdiscard, 11 kidneys were assessed as usable, with 9 kidneys thought to be possibly usable. Consideration of histological data reduced the number of kidneys thought usable to 10 (10/31; 32%). The KFTS scheme is successfully identifying organs at high risk of discard, though potentially transplantable organs are still being discarded. Analyses of discarded organs are essential to identify barriers to organ utilization and develop strategies to reduce unnecessary discard.

  4. PATHOMORPHOLOGY OF ZERO BIOPSIES OF DONOR KIDNEYS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. L. Arefjev

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available There is well known fact that kidney transplants from Extended Criteria Donors may increase risk of De- layed Graft Function and Primary Non-Function of transplants. We have collected and tested 65 «zero» kidney biopsies from cadaver donors aged from 19 to 71 years old. In the pool of elderly donors who died from cerebrovascular accident the frequency of nephrosclerosis presentation was higher than in donors of yonger age who died from craniocephalic trauma. Nevertheless in the general donor pool the number of sclerosed glomeruli was no more than 12%. We did not meet at all in the whole volume of material any bi- opsy with the severe degree of arteriosclerosis. The «zero» biopsies of cadaver kidneys is quite usable and unexpensive tool to measure the degree of nephrosclerosis in order to exclude kidneys which are not fitable for transplantation. 

  5. Easi-CRISPR for creating knock-in and conditional knockout mouse models using long ssDNA donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miura, Hiromi; Quadros, Rolen M; Gurumurthy, Channabasavaiah B; Ohtsuka, Masato

    2018-01-01

    CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing can easily generate knockout mouse models by disrupting the gene sequence, but its efficiency for creating models that require either insertion of exogenous DNA (knock-in) or replacement of genomic segments is very poor. The majority of mouse models used in research involve knock-in (reporters or recombinases) or gene replacement (e.g., conditional knockout alleles containing exons flanked by LoxP sites). A few methods for creating such models have been reported that use double-stranded DNA as donors, but their efficiency is typically 1-10% and therefore not suitable for routine use. We recently demonstrated that long single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) serve as very efficient donors, both for insertion and for gene replacement. We call this method efficient additions with ssDNA inserts-CRISPR (Easi-CRISPR) because it is a highly efficient technology (efficiency is typically 30-60% and reaches as high as 100% in some cases). The protocol takes ∼2 months to generate the founder mice.

  6. Can value for money be improved by changing the sequence of our donor work-up in the living kidney donor programme?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Jesper; Sørensen, Søren Schwartz; Feldt-Rasmussen, Bo

    2009-08-01

    The aim of the study was to identify procedures of maximum importance for acceptance or rejection of kidney donation from a living donor as well as making the process more cost-effective. We identified all potential living related donors who were examined during the period between January 2002 and December 2006 at our department. The cost in euro (euro) for the programme was estimated using the Danish diagnosis-related group-system (DRG). The donor work-up programme was described. One hundred and thirty-three potential donors were identified; 66 male- and 67 female subjects, median age of 52 years (range 22-69). Sixty-four participants were rejected as donors. Abdominal CT-scan with angiography and urography ruled out 22 of the above 64 potential organ donors; thus, 48% of the volunteers for living kidney donation were unsuited for donation. Abdominal CT-scan with angiography and urography was the procedure identifying most subjects who were unsuited for kidney donation. A rearrangement of the present donor work-up programme could potentially reduce the costs from euro6911 to euro5292 per donor--saving 23% of the costs. By changing the sequence of examinations, it might be possible to cut down on time spent and number of tests needed for approving or rejecting subjects for living kidney donation.

  7. Prisoners as Living Donors: A Vulnerabilities Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Lainie Friedman; Thistlethwaite, J Richard

    2018-01-01

    Although national guidelines exist for evaluating the eligibility of potential living donors and for procuring their informed consent, no special protections or considerations exist for potential living donors who are incarcerated. Human research subject protections in the United States are codified in the Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 46, and special protections are given to prisoners. Living donor transplantation has parallels with human subject research in that both activities are performed with the primary goal of benefiting third parties. In this article, we describe what special considerations should be provided to prisoners as potential living donors using a vulnerabilities approach adapted from the human research subject protection literature.

  8. Land suitability assessment for wind power plant site selection using ANP-DEMATEL in a GIS environment: case study of Ardabil province, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azizi, Ali; Malekmohammadi, Bahram; Jafari, Hamid Reza; Nasiri, Hossein; Amini Parsa, Vahid

    2014-10-01

    Wind energy is a renewable energy resource that has increased in usage in most countries. Site selection for the establishment of large wind turbines, called wind farms, like any other engineering project, requires basic information and careful planning. This study assessed the possibility of establishing wind farms in Ardabil province in northwestern Iran by using a combination of analytic network process (ANP) and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methods in a geographical information system (GIS) environment. DEMATEL was used to determine the criteria relationships. The weights of the criteria were determined using ANP and the overlaying process was done on GIS. Using 13 information layers in three main criteria including environmental, technical and economical, the land suitability map was produced and reclassified into 5 equally scored divisions from least suitable to most suitable areas. The results showed that about 6.68% of the area of Ardabil province is most suitable for establishment of wind turbines. Sensitivity analysis shows that significant portions of these most suitable zones coincide with suitable divisions of the input layers. The efficiency and accuracy of the hybrid model (ANP-DEMATEL) was evaluated and the results were compared to the ANP model. The sensitivity analysis, map classification, and factor weights for the two methods showed satisfactory results for the ANP-DEMATEL model in wind power plant site selection.

  9. Donors and archives a guidebook for successful programs

    CERN Document Server

    Purcell, Aaron D

    2015-01-01

    Donors and Archives: A Guidebook for Successful Programs highlights the importance of development and fundraising for archives, while focusing on the donor and potential donor. Their interest, their support, their enthusiasm, and their stuff are vital to the success of archival programs.

  10. Marrow donor registry and cord blood bank in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tsung Dao

    2002-08-01

    Unrelated Bone marrow transplant was initiated thirty years ago. Though there are over millions of donors registered with the bone marrow registries worldwide, Asian patients rarely find a match with all these donors. Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry was established to meet this need. It has become the largest Asian marrow donor registry in the world. With the introduction of high technology to test the HLA of the donors and recipients, the success rate of bone marrow transplant is greatly improved among Asian countries. 50% of blood disease Asian patients who cannot find a bone marrow matched donor will be complemented by the establishment of cord blood banks in Taiwan.

  11. Prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among blood donors in Owerri ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study of the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among blood donors in the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, was carried out between December, 2003 and April, 2004. A total of 500 blood samples were collected from blood donors consisting of 262 commercial donors and 238 relation-donors, using ...

  12. The readability and suitability of sexual health promotion leaflets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corcoran, Nova; Ahmad, Fatuma

    2016-02-01

    To investigate the readability and suitability of sexual health promotion leaflets. Application of SMOG, FRY and SAM tests to assess the readability and suitability of a selection of sexual health leaflets. SMOG and FRY scores illustrate an average reading level of grade 9. SAM scores indicate that 59% of leaflets are superior in design and 41% are average in design. Leaflets generally perform well in the categories of content, literacy demand, typography and layout. They perform poorly in use of graphics, learning stimulation/motivation and cultural appropriateness. Sexual health leaflets have a reading level that is too high. Leaflets perform well on the suitability scores indicating they are reasonably suitable. There are a number of areas where sexual health leaflets could improve their design. Numerous practical techniques are suggested for improving the readability and suitability of sexual health leaflets. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Histological evaluation of calcaneal tuberosity cartilage--A proposed donor site for osteochondral autologous transplant for talar dome osteochondral lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calder, James D F; Ballal, Moez S; Deol, Rupinderbir S; Pearce, Christopher J; Hamilton, Paul; Lutz, Michael

    2015-09-01

    Osteochondral Autologous Transplant (OATs) as a treatment option for Osteochondral lesions (OCLs) of the talar dome frequently uses the distal femur as the donor site which is associated with donor site morbidity in up to 50%. Some studies have described the presence of hyaline cartilage in the posterior superior calcaneal tuberosity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the posterior superior calcaneal tuberosity to determine if it can be a suitable donor site for OATs of the talus In this cadaveric study, we histologically evaluated 12 osteochondral plugs taken from the posterior superior calcaneal tuberosity and compared them to 12 osteochondral plugs taken from the talar dome. In the talar dome group, all samples had evidence of hyaline cartilage with varying degrees of GAG staining. The average hyaline cartilage thickness in the samples was 1.33 mm. There was no evidence of fibrocartilage, fibrous tissue or fatty tissue in this group. In contrast, the Calcaneal tuberosity samples had no evidence of hyaline cartilage. Fibrocartilage was noted in 3 samples only. We believe that the structural differences between the talus and calcanium grafts render the posterior superior clancaneal tuberosity an unsuitable donor site for OATs in the treatment of OCL of the talus. Copyright © 2014 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Suitability of obstetric ultrasonographic parameters in determining ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: A prospective study aimed at assessing the suitability of Biparietal Diameter (BPD), Femoral Length (FL), Transverse abdominal Diameter (TAD) and Composite value by ultrasonography, in determining foetal or gestational age derived by last menstrual period (LMP) in our environment was undertaken.

  15. Utilization of organs from donors after circulatory death for vascularized pancreas and islet of Langerhans transplantation: recommendations from an expert group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berney, Thierry; Boffa, Catherine; Augustine, Titus; Badet, Lionel; de Koning, Eelco; Pratschke, Johann; Socci, Carlo; Friend, Peter

    2016-07-01

    Donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors are increasingly being used as a source of pancreas allografts for vascularized organ and islet transplantation. We provide practice guidelines aiming to increase DCD pancreas utilization. We review risk assessment and donor selection criteria. We report suggested factors in donor and recipient clinical management and provide an overview of the activities and outcomes of vascularized pancreas and islet transplantation. © 2015 Steunstichting ESOT.

  16. Seroprevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1/2 in blood donors in northern pakistan: implication for blood donor screening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niazi, S.K.

    2015-01-01

    To determine the seroprevalence of Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-1/2 (HTLV-1/2) in blood donors in Northern Pakistan. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion, Rawalpindi, from July to August 2013. Methodology:A total of 2100 blood donors were screened for anti-HTLV-1/2 antibodies during the study period, in a pool of six, on a highly sensitive, Chemiluminiscent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) based system. The screening test reactive donors were recalled, counseled and interviewed, and a fresh sample was obtained for confirmatory testing. Confirmation was performed using additional immunoassays including Line Immunoassay (LIA); with additional testing for HTLV-1 pvDNAPCR. Frequency and percentages were determined. Results: Four donors (0.19%) were repeatedly screening test-reactive and were subsequently confirmed to be HTLV-1 infected by line immunoassay and HTLV-1 pvDNAPCR. All four donors were male with mean age of 27 ± 6.27 years. Two (50%) of the positive donors gave history of Multiple Sexual Partners (MSP). Conclusion: HTLV-1 seroprevalence in Northern Pakistan blood donors was determined to be 0.19%. Large scale studies, including the cost effectiveness of screening blood donations for anti-HTLV-1/2 in Pakistan, are recommended. (author)

  17. Increase in quantity and quality of suitable areas for invasive species as climate changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertelsmeier, Cleo; Luque, Gloria M; Courchamp, Franck

    2013-12-01

    As climatically suitable range projections become increasingly used to assess distributions of species, we recommend systematic assessments of the quality of habitat in addition to the classical binary classification of habitat. We devised a method to assess occurrence probability, captured by a climatic suitability index, through which we could determine variations in the quality of potential habitat. This relative risk assessment circumvents the use of an arbitrary suitability threshold. We illustrated our method with 2 case studies on invasive ant species. We estimated invasion potential of the destroyer ant (Monomorium destructor) and the European fire ant (Myrmica rubra) on a global scale currently and by 2080 with climate change. We found that 21.1% of the world's landmass currently has a suitable climate for the destroyer ant and 16% has a suitable climate for European fire ant. Our climatic suitability index showed that both ant species would benefit from climate change, but in different ways. The size of the potential distribution increased by 35.8% for the destroyer ant. Meanwhile, the total area of potential distribution remained the same for the European fire ant (>0.05%), but the level of climatic suitability within this range increased greatly and led to an improvement in habitat quality (i.e., of invasive species' establishment likelihood). Either through quantity or quality of suitable areas, both invasive ant species are likely to increase the extent of their invasion in the future, following global climate change. Our results show that species may increase their range if either more areas become suitable or if the available areas present improved suitability. Studies in which an arbitrary suitability threshold was used may overlook changes in area quality within climatically suitable areas and as a result reach incorrect predictions. Incremento de la Cantidad y Calidad de Áreas Idóneas para Especies Invasoras a Medida que Cambia el Clima.

  18. Interplay between barrier width and height in electron tunneling: photoinduced electron transfer in porphyrin-based donor-bridge-acceptor systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettersson, Karin; Wiberg, Joanna; Ljungdahl, Thomas; Mårtensson, Jerker; Albinsson, Bo

    2006-01-12

    The rate of electron tunneling in molecular donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) systems is determined both by the tunneling barrier width and height, that is, both by the distance between the donor and acceptor as well as by the energy gap between the donor and bridge moieties. These factors are therefore important to control when designing functional electron transfer systems, such as constructs for photovoltaics, artificial photosynthesis, and molecular scale electronics. In this paper we have investigated a set of D-B-A systems in which the distance and the energy difference between the donor and bridge states (DeltaEDB) are systematically varied. Zinc(II) and gold(III) porphyrins were chosen as electron donor and acceptor because of their suitable driving force for photoinduced electron transfer (-0.9 eV in butyronitrile) and well-characterized photophysics. We have previously shown, in accordance with the superexchange mechanism for electron transfer, that the electron transfer rate is proportional to the inverse of DeltaEDB in a series of zinc/gold porphyrin D-B-A systems with bridges of constant edge to edge distance (19.6 A) and varying DeltaEDB (3900-17 600 cm(-1)). Here, we use the same donor and acceptor but the bridge is shortened or extended giving a set of oligo-p-phenyleneethynylene bridges (OPE) with four different edge to edge distances ranging from 12.7 to 33.4 A. These two sets of D-B-A systems-ZnP-RB-AuP+ and ZnP-nB-AuP+-have one bridge in common, and hence, for the first time both the distance and DeltaEDB dependence of electron transfer can be studied simultaneously in a systematic way.

  19. Can value for money be improved by changing the sequence of our donor work-up in the living kidney donor programme?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, J.; Sorensen, S.S.; Feldt-Rasmussen, B.

    2009-01-01

    and December 2006 at our department. The cost in euro (euro) for the programme was estimated using the Danish diagnosis-related group-system (DRG). The donor work-up programme was described. One hundred and thirty-three potential donors were identified; 66 male- and 67 female subjects, median age of 52 years......The aim of the study was to identify procedures of maximum importance for acceptance or rejection of kidney donation from a living donor as well as making the process more cost-effective. We identified all potential living related donors who were examined during the period between January 2002...... was the procedure identifying most subjects who were unsuited for kidney donation. A rearrangement of the present donor work-up programme could potentially reduce the costs from euro6911 to euro5292 per donor--saving 23% of the costs. By changing the sequence of examinations, it might be possible to cut down...

  20. Can value for money be improved by changing the sequence of our donor work-up in the living kidney donor programme?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jesper; Sørensen, Søren Schwartz; Feldt-Rasmussen, Bo

    2009-01-01

    (range 22-69). Sixty-four participants were rejected as donors. Abdominal CT-scan with angiography and urography ruled out 22 of the above 64 potential organ donors; thus, 48% of the volunteers for living kidney donation were unsuited for donation. Abdominal CT-scan with angiography and urography......The aim of the study was to identify procedures of maximum importance for acceptance or rejection of kidney donation from a living donor as well as making the process more cost-effective. We identified all potential living related donors who were examined during the period between January 2002...... was the procedure identifying most subjects who were unsuited for kidney donation. A rearrangement of the present donor work-up programme could potentially reduce the costs from euro6911 to euro5292 per donor--saving 23% of the costs. By changing the sequence of examinations, it might be possible to cut down...

  1. Governance, resource curse and donor

    OpenAIRE

    Wiig, Arne

    2008-01-01

    Plan Part 1. Governance What is good governance? Why is it important? How can we measure good governance? Part 2. The resource curse and the importance of governance in resource rich countries Focus on political economy (PE) models of the resource curse Policy implications Some donor initiatives Transparency and the EITI Petroleum related aid - Window dressing initiatives or research based? Conclusion Governance, resource curse and donor

  2. Donor level of interstitial hydrogen in GaAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobaczewski, L.; Bonde Nielsen, K.; Nylandsted Larsen, A.; Peaker, A.R.

    2006-01-01

    The first data evidencing the existence of the donor level of the interstitial hydrogen in GaAs are presented. The abundant formation of the (0/+) donor level after in situ low-temperature implantation of hydrogen into the depletion layer of GaAs Schottky diodes has been observed and the activation energy and annealing properties have been determined by Laplace DLTS. The activation energy for electron emission of this donor state is 0.14eV. Above 100K the hydrogen deep donor state is unstable, converting to a more stable form when there are electrons available for the capture process. A slightly perturbed form of the hydrogen donor in its neutral charge state can be recovered by illuminating the sample. This process releases twice as many electrons as the ionisation process of the hydrogen donor state itself. This fact, by analogy with the silicon case, evidences the negative-U behaviour of hydrogen in GaAs

  3. Assessing the suitability of a partial water reuse system for rearing juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha for stocking in Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Health and welfare of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytsha reared in a pilot circular tank-based partial water reuse system in Washington State were evaluated in comparison to fish from the same spawn reared in a flow-through raceway, in order to assess the suitability of using water reus...

  4. Anonymous body or first patient? A status report and needs assessment regarding the personalization of donors in dissection courses in German, Austrian, and Swiss Medical Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasselblatt, Friederike; Messerer, David A C; Keis, Oliver; Böckers, Tobias M; Böckers, Anja

    2018-05-06

    Many Anglo-American universities have undertaken a paradigm shift in how the dissection of human material is approached, such that students are encouraged to learn about the lives of body donors, and to respectfully "personalize" them as human beings, rather than treating the specimens as anonymous cadavers. For the purposes of this study, this provision of limited personal information regarding the life of a body donor will be referred to as "personalization" of body donors. At this time, it is unknown whether this paradigm shift in the personalization of body donors can be translated into the German-speaking world. A shift from donor anonymity to donor personalization could strengthen students' perception of the donor as a "first patient," and thereby reinforce their ability to empathize with their future patients. Therefore, this study aimed to collect data about the current status of donation practices at German-speaking anatomy departments (n = 44) and to describe the opinions of anatomy departments, students (n = 366), and donors (n = 227) about possible donor personalization in medical education. Anatomy departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were invited to participate in an online questionnaire. One-tenth of registered donors at Ulm University were randomly selected and received a questionnaire (20 items, yes-no questions) by mail. Students at the University of Ulm were also surveyed at the end of the dissection course (31 items, six-point Likert-scale). The majority of students were interested in receiving additional information about their donors (78.1%). A majority of donors also supported the anonymous disclosure of information about their medical history (92.5%). However, this information is only available in about 28% of the departments surveyed and is communicated to the students only irregularly. Overall, 78% of anatomy departments were not in favor of undertaking donor personalization. The results appear to reflect

  5. Low prevalence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus-I/II among blood donors in eastern Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fawaz, Naglaa A; Tamim, Hala; Almawi, Wassim Y

    2005-04-01

    The seroprevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I/II was assessed in 13,443 consecutive blood donors in eastern Saudi Arabia between 1998 and 2001. Screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmation by Western blot resulted in 8 (0.060%) positive cases, of which 5 (0.056%) belonged to Saudi and 3 (0.113%) to non-Saudi donors. The majority of the HTLV-positive donations (6/8) were for patients, and none had a history of known risk factor for HTLV-I/II transmission. Although the very low prevalence of HTLV-I/II among Saudi donors does not support routine screening, screening of donors from other nationalities may be initiated, especially those from HTLV-I/II endemic areas.

  6. Utilization of organs from donors after circulatory death for vascularized pancreas and islet of Langerhans transplantation : recommendations from an expert group

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berney, Thierry; Boffa, Catherine; Augustine, Titus; Badet, Lionel; de Koning, Eelco; Pratschke, Johann; Socci, Carlo; Friend, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors are increasingly being used as a source of pancreas allografts for vascularized organ and islet transplantation. We provide practice guidelines aiming to increase DCD pancreas utilization. We review risk assessment and donor selection criteria. We report

  7. Non-organ donors' attitudes toward incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumin, Makmor; Noh, Abdillah; Chong, Chin-Sieng; Lim, Soo-Kun; Abdullah, Nawi; Ng, Kok-Peng

    2013-01-01

    Malaysians indicating that they did not intend to become organ donors upon their death were surveyed regarding interest in non-fungible financial incentives to be granted to surviving family members. Among the 730 (56% of the total sample of 1311) indicating unwillingness to be donors, 29.6% (216/730) subsequently indicated that they would be willing donors if the government introduced policies that, upon their death, "rewarded your (their) family with incentives for your (their) deeds." Among the 69% (504/730) who insisted that they would not become organ donor even with incentive, nearly 80% (404/501) of them were able to identify relevant incentives they thought should be provided by the state to those who make organ donations upon death. The majority of both groups preferred the state provide medical benefits to a surviving family member, suggesting this may be an attractive policy option for the state to raise the deceased organ donation pool. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  8. 20 CFR 401.200 - Blood donor locator service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Blood donor locator service. 401.200 Section... AND INFORMATION Disclosure of Official Records and Information § 401.200 Blood donor locator service... donors whose blood donations show that they are or may be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus...

  9. Importance of Donor Chondrocyte Viability for Osteochondral Allografts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, James L; Stannard, James P; Stoker, Aaron M; Bozynski, Chantelle C; Kuroki, Keiichi; Cook, Cristi R; Pfeiffer, Ferris M

    2016-05-01

    Osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation provides a biological treatment option for functional restoration of large articular cartilage defects in multiple joints. While successful outcomes after OCA transplantation have been linked to viable donor chondrocytes, the importance of donor cell viability has not been comprehensively validated. To use a canine model to determine the importance of donor chondrocyte viability at the time of implantation with respect to functional success of femoral condylar OCAs based on radiographic, gross, cell viability, histologic, biochemical, and biomechanical outcome measures. Controlled laboratory study. After approval was obtained from the institutional animal care and use committee, adult female dogs (N = 16) were implanted with 8-mm cylindrical OCAs from male dogs in the lateral and medial femoral condyles of 1 knee. OCAs were preserved for 28 or 60 days after procurement, and chondrocyte viability was quantified before implantation. Two different storage media, temperatures, and time points were used to obtain a spectrum of percentage chondrocyte viability at the time of implantation. A successful outcome was defined as an OCA that was associated with graft integration, maintenance of hyaline cartilage, lack of associated cartilage disorder, and lack of fibrillation, fissuring, or fibrous tissue infiltration of the allograft based on subjective radiographic, gross, and histologic assessments at 6 months after implantation. Chondrocyte viability ranged from 23% to 99% at the time of implantation. All successful grafts had >70% chondrocyte viability at the time of implantation, and no graft with chondrocyte viability <70% was associated with a successful outcome. Live-dead stained sections and histologic findings with respect to cell morphological features suggested that successful grafts were consistently composed of viable chondrocytes in lacunae, while grafts that were not successful were composed of nonviable

  10. The grave necessity to make eye bank specular microscopy mandatory in all eye banks in the subcontinent to improve utilization of scarce donor corneas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadeja, Jagruti N; Patel, Bharati D; Shanbhag, Swapna S

    2013-12-01

    Donor tissue scarcity, Eye Bank Specular Microscopy as yet not made mandatory and tissue utilization often based on clinical judgment only. Prospectively analyze alteration in clinical grading of donor corneas and hence utilization, based on Eye Bank Specular Microscopy (EBSM) and to infer if EBSM should be mandatory in all eye banks. 200 consecutive otherwise 'suitable for surgery' donor eyes were graded clinically. On quantitative and qualitative analysis of endothelial cells by EBSM, final grading was adjusted. Impact on subsequent utilization for various surgeries was analyzed with regard to Age of Donor, Death to Enucleation Time, Death to Preservation Time and Lens Status of Donor Eye. 76 eyes (38%) (P 60 years showed CD >= 2500. From donor >=81 years, 2/13 (15.3%) eyes showed CD between 2501-3000 and 1 (7.6%) eye showed CD > 3000. Owing to better grading after EBSM, 13/14 (92.85%) tissues with DTET >6 hours and 5/5 (100%) tissues with DTPT > 16 hours were transplanted. Out of 45 (22.5%) pseudo-phakic tissues, 21 (46.67%) tissues were used for Therapeutic/Tectonic Penetrating Keratoplasty (PKP) while 24 (53.33%) tissues were used for Optical PKP. EBSM significantly alters final grading of tissues and its subsequent utilization. Acquiring huge importance in areas where adequate supply of corneas is lacking, EBSM becomes an indispensable tool for optimizing availability of qualified tissues for surgery. EBSM should be made a mandatory analysis.

  11. The grave necessity to make eye bank specular microscopy mandatory in all eye banks in the subcontinent to improve utilization of scarce donor corneas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jagruti N Jadeja

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Donor tissue scarcity, Eye Bank Specular Microscopy as yet not made mandatory and tissue utilization often based on clinical judgment only. Aims: Prospectively analyze alteration in clinical grading of donor corneas and hence utilization, based on Eye Bank Specular Microscopy (EBSM and to infer if EBSM should be mandatory in all eye banks. Materials and Methods: 200 consecutive otherwise ′suitable for surgery′ donor eyes were graded clinically. On quantitative and qualitative analysis of endothelial cells by EBSM, final grading was adjusted. Impact on subsequent utilization for various surgeries was analyzed with regard to Age of Donor, Death to Enucleation Time, Death to Preservation Time and Lens Status of Donor Eye. Results: 76 eyes (38% (P 60 years showed CD >= 2500. From donor >=81 years, 2/13 (15.3% eyes showed CD between 2501-3000 and 1 (7.6% eye showed CD > 3000. Owing to better grading after EBSM, 13/14 (92.85% tissues with DTET >6 hours and 5/5 (100% tissues with DTPT > 16 hours were transplanted. Out of 45 (22.5% pseudo-phakic tissues, 21 (46.67% tissues were used for Therapeutic/Tectonic Penetrating Keratoplasty (PKP while 24 (53.33% tissues were used for Optical PKP. Conclusions: EBSM significantly alters final grading of tissues and its subsequent utilization. Acquiring huge importance in areas where adequate supply of corneas is lacking, EBSM becomes an indispensable tool for optimizing availability of qualified tissues for surgery. EBSM should be made a mandatory analysis.

  12. Charged dopants in neutral supercells through substitutional donor (acceptor): nitrogen donor charging of the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löfgren, Robin; Pawar, Ravinder; Öberg, Sven; Larsson, J. Andreas

    2018-02-01

    Charged defects are traditionally computed by adding (subtracting) electrons for negative (positive) impurities. When using periodic boundary conditions this results in artificially charged supercells that also require a compensating background charge of the opposite sign, which makes slab supercells problematic because of an arbitrary dependence on the vacuum thickness. In this work, we test the method of using neutral supercells through the use of a substitutional electron donor (acceptor) to describe charged systems. We use density functional theory (DFT) to compare the effects of charging the well-studied NV-center in diamond by a substitutional donor nitrogen. We investigate the influence of the donor-N on the NV-center properties as a function of the distance between them, and find that they converge toward those obtained when adding an electron. We analyze the spin density and conclude that the donor-N has a zero magnetic moment, and thus, will not be seen in electron spin resonance. We validate our DFT energies through comparison to GW simulations. Charging the NV-center with a substitutional donor-N enables accurate calculations of slabs, without the ambiguity of using charged supercells. Implantation of donor-N atoms opens up the possibility to engineer NV-centers with the desired charge state for future ICT and sensor applications.

  13. Bone density in apheresis donors and whole blood donors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boot, C.L.; Luken, J.S.; van den Burg, P.J.M.; de Kort, W.L.A.M.; Koopman, M.M.W.; Vrielink, H.; van Schoor, N.M.; den Heijer, M.; Lips, P.

    2015-01-01

    Apheresis donation using citrate causes acute decrease in serum calcium and increase in serum parathyroid hormone. Long-term consequences, such as decrease in bone mineral density (BMD), are not known. In this study, we compared the BMD of 20 postmenopausal apheresis donors (mean donation number 115

  14. Psychosocial counselling in donor sperm treatment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, M.

    2018-01-01

    For decades, donor sperm treatment is offered to men and women to build a family. In daily life, parents, children and donors have to deal with the consequences of this treatment. The studies of this thesis show that there are gaps in knowledge about specialist psychosocial counselling and guidance

  15. Reevaluating Suitability Estimates Based on Dynamics of Cropland Expansion in the Brazilian Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Douglas C.; Noojipady, Praveen; Macedo, Marcia M.; Victoria, Daniel C.; Bolfe, Edson L.

    2016-01-01

    Agricultural suitability maps are a key input for land use zoning and projections of cropland expansion. Suitability assessments typically consider edaphic conditions, climate, crop characteristics, and sometimes incorporate accessibility to transportation and market infrastructure. However, correct weighting among these disparate factors is challenging, given rapid development of new crop varieties, irrigation, and road networks, as well as changing global demand for agricultural commodities. Here, we compared three independent assessments of cropland suitability to spatial and temporal dynamics of agricultural expansion in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso during 2001 2012. We found that areas of recent cropland expansion identified using satellite data were generally designated as low to moderate suitability for rainfed crop production. Our analysis highlighted the abrupt nature of suitability boundaries, rather than smooth gradients of agricultural potential, with little additional cropland expansion beyond the extent of the flattest areas (0-2% slope). Satellite-based estimates of the interannual variability in the use of existing crop areas also provided an alternate means to assess suitability. On average, cropland areas in the Cerrado biome had higher utilization (84%) than croplands in the Amazon region of northern Mato Grosso (74%). Areas of more recent expansion had lower utilization than croplands established before 2002, providing empirical evidence for lower suitability or alternative management strategies (e.g., pasture soya rotations) for lands undergoing more recent land use transitions. This unplanted reserve constitutes a large area of potentially available cropland (PAC)without further expansion, within the management limits imposed for pest management and fallow cycles. Using two key constraints on future cropland expansion, slope and restrictions on further deforestation of Amazon or Cerrado vegetation, we found little available flat land for

  16. RESULTS OF THE SPECIAL BLOOD DONOR DAY

    CERN Document Server

    SC Unit

    2008-01-01

    Responding to the HUG (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) hospitals’ urgent appeal for blood donations during this summer season, the CERN medical staff organised a day of blood donations for the Swiss bloodbank CTS on 30 July. They were supported by NOVAE (Restaurant No. 1), who provided donors with a free snack. This specially arranged campaign was a success, as the 135 volunteers included 66 first-time donors, and a total of 99 standard bags of blood was collected. (Swiss hospitals need 1300 bags every day!) The CTS and CERN’s medical staff want to thank the donors and all others who helped make the event a success. Upcoming blood donor days at CERN: 12 November 2008 and 10 March 2009.

  17. RESULTS OF THE SPECIAL BLOOD DONOR DAY

    CERN Document Server

    SC Unit

    2008-01-01

    Responding to the HUG (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) hospitals’ urgent appeal for blood donations during this summer season, the CERN medical staff organised a day of blood donations for the Swiss bloodbank CTS on 30 July. They were supported by NOVAE (Restaurant No. 1), who provided donors with a free snack. This specially arranged campaign was a success, as the 135 volunteers included 66 first-time donors, and a total of 99 standard bags of blood were collected. (Swiss hospitals need 1300 bags every day!) The CTS and CERN’s medical staff wish to thank the donors and all others who helped make the event a success. Upcoming blood donor days at CERN: 12 November 2008 and 10 March 2009.

  18. The profile of potential organ and tissue donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moraes, Edvaldo Leal de; Silva, Leonardo Borges de Barros E; Moraes, Tatiana Cristine de; Paixão, Nair Cordeiro dos Santos da; Izumi, Nelly Miyuki Shinohara; Guarino, Aparecida de Jesus

    2009-01-01

    This study aimed to characterize donors according to gender, age group, cause of brain death; quantify donors with hypernatremia, hyperpotassemia and hypopotassemia; and get to know which organs were the most used in transplantations. This quantitative, descriptive, exploratory and retrospective study was performed at the Organ Procurement Organization of the University of São Paulo Medical School Hospital das Clínicas. Data from the medical records of 187 potential donors were analyzed. Cerebrovascular accidents represented 53.48% of all brain death causes, sodium and potassium disorders occurred in 82.36% of cases and 45.46% of the potential donors were between 41 and 60 years old. The results evidenced that natural death causes exceeded traumatic deaths, and that most donors presented sodium and potassium alterations, likely associated to inappropriate maintenance.

  19. Management to optimize organ procurement in brain dead donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascia, L; Mastromauro, I; Viberti, S; Vincenzi, M; Zanello, M

    2009-03-01

    The demand for donor organs continues to exceed the number of organs available for transplantation. Many reasons may account for this discrepancy, such as the lack of consent, the absence of an experienced coordinator team able to solve logistical problems, the use of strict donor criteria, and suboptimal, unstandardized critical care management of potential organ donors. This has resulted in efforts to improve the medical care delivered to potential organ donors, so as to reduce organ shortages, improve organ procurement, and promote graft survival. The physiological changes that follow brain death entail a high incidence of complications jeopardizing potentially transplantable organs. Adverse events include cardiovascular changes, endocrine and metabolic disturbances, and disruption of internal homeostasis. Brain death also upregulates the release of pro-inflammatory molecules. Recent findings support the hypothesis that a preclinical lung injury characterized by an enhanced inflammatory response is present in potential donors and may predispose recipients to an adverse clinical prognosis following lung transplantation. In clinical practice, hypotension, diabetes insipidus, relative hypothermia, and natremia are more common than disseminated intravascular coagulation, cardiac arrhythmias, pulmonary oedema, acute lung injury, and metabolic acidosis. Strategies for the management of organ donors exist and consist of the normalization of donor physiology. Management has been complicated by the recent use of ''marginal'' donors and donors of advanced age or with ''extended'' criteria. Current guidelines suggest that the priority of critical care management for potential organ donors should be shifted from a ''cerebral protective'' strategy to a multimodal strategy aimed to preserve peripheral organ function.

  20. Algorithm for recall of HIV reactive Indian blood donors by sequential immunoassays enables selective donor referral for counseling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thakral B

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: HIV/AIDS pandemic brought into focus the importance of safe blood donor pool. Aims: To analyze true seroprevalence of HIV infection in our blood donors and devise an algorithm for donor recall avoiding unnecessary referrals to voluntary counseling and testing centre (VCTC. Materials and Methods: 39,784 blood units were screened for anti-HIV 1/2 using ELISA immunoassay (IA-1. Samples which were repeat reactive on IA-1 were further tested using two different immunoassays (IA-2 and IA-3 and Western blot (WB. Based on results of these sequential IAs and WB, an algorithm for recall of true HIV seroreactive blood donors is suggested for countries like India where nucleic acid testing or p24 antigen assays are not mandatory and given the limited resources may not be feasible. Results: The anti-HIV seroreactivity by repeat IA-1, IA-2, IA-3 and WB were 0.16%, 0.11%, 0.098% and 0.07% respectively. Of the 44 IA-1 reactive samples, 95.2% (20/21 of the seroreactive samples by both IA-2 and IA-3 were also WB positive and 100% (6/6 of the non-reactive samples by these IAs were WB negative. IA signal/cutoff ratio was significantly low in biological false reactive donors. WB indeterminate results were largely due to non-specific reactivity to gag protein (p55. Conclusions: HIV seroreactivity by sequential immunoassays (IA-1, IA-2 and IA-3; comparable to WHO Strategy-III prior to donor recall results in decreased referral to VCTC as compared to single IA (WHO Strategy-I being followed currently in India. Moreover, this strategy will repose donor confidence in our blood transfusion services and strengthen voluntary blood donation program.

  1. Living donor liver transplantation from a donor previously treated with interferon for hepatitis C virus: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nakao Kazuhiko

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Selecting a marginal donor in liver transplantation (LT remains controversial but is necessary because of the small number of available donors. Case presentation A 46-year-old Japanese woman was a candidate to donate her liver to her brother, who had decompensated liver cirrhosis of unknown origin. Eight years before the donation, she had a mild liver dysfunction that was diagnosed as a hepatitis C virus (HCV infection (serotype 2. She had received anti-viral therapy with interferon α-2b three times weekly for 24 weeks and had a sustained viral response (SVR. A biopsy of her liver before the donation showed normal findings without any active hepatitis, and her serum was negative for HCV-RNA. Only 67 patients have undergone LT from a cadaveric donor in Japan. The family in this case decided to have living donor LT. A careful selection for the liver graft donation was made; however, since she was the only candidate, we approved her as a living donor. She was discharged nine days after the liver donation. Her liver function recovered immediately. A computed tomography scan showed sufficient liver regeneration one year later. Her brother also had good liver function after LT and had no HCV infection 48 months after surgery and no de novo malignancy. Neither of the siblings has developed an HCV infection. Conclusions A patient with SVR status after interferon therapy might be considered a candidate for living donor LT but only if there are no other possibilities of LT for the recipient. A careful follow-up of the donor after donation is needed. The recipient also must have a very close follow-up because it is difficult to predict what might happen to the graft with post-transplant immunosuppression.

  2. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: meeting the challenge of consumerism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddins, Mark; Hart, Gabrielle; He, Bulang; Kanchanabat, Burapa; Mohan Rao, M

    2003-11-01

    Despite the increasing adoption of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, no study has examined donor perceptions following this procedure. In particular, it has been tacitly assumed that a less invasive procedure might in itself provide a more satisfactory donor experience. The present study reviews the experience of donors undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy, and examines the extent to which contemporary management practice addresses issues relevant to consumerism. Forty-two donors participated in a structured telephone interview, and 33 (79%) returned a written questionnaire. Coming through the survey was a strong sense of commitment to donation, and most respondents were satisfied with the experience. The main criticisms related to hotel services, the duration of the preoperative investigations, the perceived quality of nursing care on the general wards, medical communication and the duration of postoperative follow up. The self-reported time to meet recovery goals was extremely broad. Considering the nature of criticisms offered by the respondents, it is concluded that the expectations of donors as health-care consumers will only be met through modification of existing protocols.

  3. [Quality of life of living kidney donor: a national report].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briançon, S; Germain, L; Baudelot, C; Bannay, A; Virion, J-M; Thuong, M

    2011-07-01

    The renal transplantation is nowadays the reference treatment of ESRD. Living donor kidney transplantation is less often performed in France than in other countries. Nevertheless, numerous French and international surveys have evidenced that it provides the recipients a longer life expectancy and a better quality of life. Donors themselves, what do they become? How are they? For the first time in France, a survey has been implemented to investigate the quality of life of living kidney donor to one of their close relations. This study has been undertaken by the Agency of the biomedecine and the service Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation (EEC), of the University teaching hospital of Nancy. The main objective was to describe the quality of life of the living donors having given a kidney for more than a year and less than 5 years. The secondary objective was to contribute to the knowledge of the main factors associated to the living kidney donor quality of life, one year after the donation. Participants had to be living in France at the time of the donation which had taken place between June 30(th), 2005 and March 1(st), 2009. A folder gathering various self-administrated questionnaires was sent to the place of residence of the donor between March and April, 2010. These data were completed by medical data collected near the transplantation centres by the Agency of biomedecine within the framework of the register CRISTAL. They included the characteristics of the donation and of the donor at the very time of the donation, 3 months after the donation and at the last annual assessment. Three living donors in four, that is 501 persons, agreed to fully participate. They constituted a representative national sample of all the living donors of this period. The non participants were younger (4.5 years on average) and had a less adequate annual follow-up. The women were more represented (61 %) than men. The median age was 53 years. More of 2/3 were employed at the time of the

  4. Donor-derived infections among Chinese donation after cardiac death liver recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Qi-Fa; Zhou, Wei; Wan, Qi-Quan

    2017-08-21

    To investigate blood cultures of deceased donors and report the confirmed transmission of bacterial infection from donors to liver recipients. We retrospectively studied the results of blood cultures among our donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors and calculated the donor-derived bacterial infection rates among liver recipients. Study participants underwent liver transplantation between January 1, 2010 and February 1, 2017. The study involved a total of 67 recipients of liver grafts from 67 DCD donors. We extracted the data of donors' and patients' characteristics, culture results and clinical outcomes, especially the post-transplant complications in liver recipients, from electronic medical records. We analyzed the characteristics of the donors and the corresponding liver recipients with emphasis put on donor-derived infections. Head trauma was the most common origin of death among our 67 DCD donors (46.3%). Blood taken prior to the procurement operation was cultured for 53 of the donors, with 17 episodes of bloodstream infections developing from 13 donors. The predominant organism isolated from the blood of donors was Gram-positive bacteria (70.6%). Only three (4.5%) of 67 liver recipients developed confirmed donor-derived bacterial infections, with two isolates of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and one isolate of multidrug-resistant Enterobacter aerogenes. The liver recipients with donor-derived infections showed relation to higher crude mortality and graft loss rates (33.3% each) within 3 mo post transplantation, as compared to those without donor-derived infections (9.4% and 4.7%, respectively). All three liver recipients received appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Liver recipients have high occurrence of donor-derived infections. The liver recipients with donor-derived multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections can have good outcome if appropriate antimicrobial therapy is given.

  5. Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: Early Experience at a Single Center in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohsin, Rehan; Shehzad, Asad; Bajracharya, Uspal; Ali, Bux; Aziz, Tahir; Mubarak, Muhammed; Hashmi, Altaf; Rizvi, Adibul Hasan

    2018-04-01

    Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the criterion standard for kidney retrieval from living donors. There is no information on the experience and outcomes of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in Pakistan. The objective of the study was to identify benefits and harms of using laparoscopic compared with open nephrectomy techniques for renal allograft retrieval. In this a retrospective study, patient files from May 2014 to September 2015 were analyzed. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with open donor nephrectomy and those with laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Donor case files and operative notes were analyzed for age, sex, laterality, body mass index, warm ischemia time, perioperative and postoperative complications, surgery time, and length of hospital stay. Finally, serum creatinine patterns of both donors and recipients were analyzed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 10 (SPSS: An IBM Company, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Of 388 total donors, 190 (49%) had open donor nephrectomy and 198 (51%) had laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. For both groups, most donors were older than 25 years with male preponderance. Left-to-right kidney donation ratio was markedly higher in the laparoscopic group than in the open donor nephrectomy group, with 6 cases of double renal artery also included in this study. There were no significant differences in surgery times between the 2 groups, whereas the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy group had shorter hospital stay. Analgesic requirements were markedly shorter in the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy group. The 1-year graft function was not significantly different between the 2 groups. The results for laparoscopic donor nephrectomy were comparable to those for open donor nephrectomy, and its acceptability was high. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy should be the preferred approach for procuring the kidney graft.

  6. [Towards the development of living donor kidney transplantation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macher, Marie-Alice

    2016-12-01

    Living donor kidney transplantation has been increasing since 2008. Living donors represent a significant potential for organ transplants, in a context where the needs outstrip the availability of organs from deceased donors. However, patients are still poorly informed regarding the conditions in which these transplants are possible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. Comparing prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia and Beta Thalassemia Trait in microcytic and non-microcytic blood donors: suggested algorithm for donor screening

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiwari Aseem

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The prevalence of microcytosis in donors and Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA and Beta-Thalassemia trait (BTT in microcytic and non-microcytic donors has not been studied in India. The present study aims at finding the same. Materials and Methods: Initially 925 donor samples were evaluated on cell-counter. Of these, 50 were found to be microcytic. These were subjected to Ferritin and HbA2 determination. Subsequently, an additional 51, age-and-sex matched non-microcytic donor samples were selected to serve as controls. These were subjected to the same tests. Results: The prevalence of microcytosis was 5.4% (50/925. Among the microcytic donors, 52% were IDA, 36% BTT, 8% both, and 4% none. In case of non-microcytic donors 29.4% were IDA, 3.9% BTT, and 66.7% none. Conclusions: The study revealed a high prevalence of IDA and BTT in blood donors and a higher probability of finding these in the microcytic samples. This prompted authors to suggest an algorithm for screening of blood donors for IDA and BTT. The algorithm recommends doing an hemogram on all donor samples, routinely. Ferritin could be done only in microcytic samples. At levels lower than15 ng/ml, it is diagnosed as IDA, and therefore, HPLC is performed only for non-IDA samples with Ferritin levels higher than 15 ng/ml. By employing this algorithm, a substantial number of IDA and BTT could be diagnosed while keeping the number of Ferritin tests small and the number of HPLC tests even smaller and thus making it cost efficient.

  8. Do donor oocyte cycles comply with ASRM/SART embryo transfer guidelines? An analysis of 13,393 donor cycles from the SART registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acharya, Kelly S; Keyhan, Sanaz; Acharya, Chaitanya R; Yeh, Jason S; Provost, Meredith P; Goldfarb, James M; Muasher, Suheil J

    2016-09-01

    To analyze donor oocyte cycles in the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) registry to determine: 1) how many cycles complied with the 2009 American Society for Reproductive Medicine/SART embryo transfer guidelines; and 2) cycle outcomes according to the number of embryos transferred. For donor oocyte IVF with donor age cycles from 2011 to 2012. Embryos transferred in donor IVF cycles. Percentage of compliant cycles, multiple pregnancy rate. There were 3,157 donor cleavage-stage transfers and 10,236 donor blastocyst transfers. In the cleavage-stage cycles, 88% met compliance criteria. The multiple pregnancy rate (MPR) was significantly higher in the noncompliant cycles. In a subanalysis of compliant cleavage-stage cycles, 91% transferred two embryos and only 9% single embryos. In those patients transferring two embryos, the MPR was significantly higher (33% vs. 1%). In blastocyst transfers, only 28% of the cycles met compliance criteria. The MPR was significantly higher in the noncompliant blastocyst cohort at 53% (compared with 2% in compliant cycles). The majority of donor cleavage-stage transfers are compliant with current guidelines, but the transfer of two embryos results in a significantly higher MPR compared with single-embryo transfer. The majority of donor blastocyst cycles are noncompliant, which appears to be driving an unacceptably high MPR in these cycles. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. [A comparative study of unrelated donor and matched-sibling donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children and adolescents with acquired severe aplastic anemia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, J; Fu, Y W; Liang, L J; Wang, Q; Han, L J; Zu, Y L; Zhang, Yanli; Zhu, X H; Yu, F K; Fang, B J; Wei, X D; Song, Y P

    2016-12-01

    Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of unrelated donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(URD allo-HSCT) for children and adolescents with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Methods: Clinical data of 34 SAA children and adolescents undergoing allo-HSCT were retrospectively analyzed from October 2001 to October 2015. According to the source of donor, the patients were divided into matched sibling donor allo-HSCT group (MSD group) and unrelated donor group (URD group). The clinical outcome of SAA children and adolescents receiving URD allo-HSCT was assessed, and patients in MSD allo-HSCT group were enrolled as control at the same period. Results: The rate of hematopoietic reconstitution, the time of neutrophil and platelet engraftment, incidence of chimerism and graft rejection between two groups were not statistically different.The incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in URD group was significantly higher than that in MSD group [42.9%(6/14) vs 10.5%(2/19), P =0.047]. The incidence of grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ acute GVHD and chronic GVHD in URD were higher than those in MSD group [21.4%(3/14) vs 5.3%(1/19), P =0.288; 35.7%(5/14) vs 5.3%(1/19), P =0.062, respectively], yet without significant difference between two groups. Other transplant-related complications including pulmonary complications, hemorrhagic cystitis, incidence of EBV and CMV reactivation and venous occlusive disease were comparable with two regimens. Estimated 5-years overall survival (OS) rate and disease free survival (DFS) rate were not statistically significant between URD group and MSD group [(84.4±6.6)% vs (89.4±7.1)%, (82.5±5.4)% vs (82.1±4.3)%; P =0.766, P =0.884, respectively]. Conclusions: By multivariate analysis, the outcome of URD allo-HSCT in SAA children and adolescent is similar to MSD allo-HSCT. It could be an alternative option as the first-line treatment for SAA children and adolescents without HLA matched sibling donors.

  10. Review and Extension of Suitability Assessment Indicators of Weather Model Output for Analyzing Decentralized Energy Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Schermeyer

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E is gaining more and more influence in traditional energy and electricity markets in Europe and around the world. When modeling RES-E feed-in on a high temporal and spatial resolution, energy systems analysts frequently use data generated by numerical weather models as input since there is no spatial inclusive and comprehensive measurement data available. However, the suitability of such model data depends on the research questions at hand and should be inspected individually. This paper focuses on new methodologies to carry out a performance evaluation of solar irradiation data provided by a numerical weather model when investigating photovoltaic feed-in and effects on the electricity grid. Suitable approaches of time series analysis are researched from literature and applied to both model and measurement data. The findings and limits of these approaches are illustrated and a new set of validation indicators is presented. These novel indicators complement the assessment by measuring relevant key figures in energy systems analysis: e.g., gradients in energy supply, maximum values and volatility. Thus, the results of this paper contribute to the scientific community of energy systems analysts and researchers who aim at modeling RES-E feed-in on a high temporal and spatial resolution using weather model data.

  11. Deceased Donor Intervention Research: A Survey of Transplant Surgeons, Organ Procurement Professionals, and Institutional Review Board Members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigue, J R; Feng, S; Johansson, A C; Glazier, A K; Abt, P L

    2016-01-01

    Innovative deceased donor intervention strategies have the potential to increase the number and quality of transplantable organs. Yet there is confusion over regulatory and legal requirements, as well as ethical considerations. We surveyed transplant surgeons (n = 294), organ procurement organization (OPO) professionals (n = 83), and institutional review board (IRB) members (n = 317) and found wide variations in their perceptions about research classification, risk assessment for donors and organ transplant recipients, regulatory oversight requirements, and informed consent in the context of deceased donor intervention research. For instance, when presented with different research scenarios, IRB members were more likely than transplant surgeons and OPO professionals to feel that study review and oversight were necessary by the IRBs at the investigator, donor, and transplant center hospitals. Survey findings underscore the need to clarify ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements and their application to deceased donor intervention research to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and facilitate more transplants. © Copyright 2015 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  12. Eighteen years experience of granulocyte donations-acceptable donor safety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axdorph Nygell, Ulla; Sollén-Nilsson, Agneta; Lundahl, Joachim

    2015-10-01

    Granulocyte transfusions are given to patients with life-threatening infections, refractory to treatment. The donors are stimulated with corticosteroids ± granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). However, data regarding the donors' safety is sparse. The objective was therefore to evaluate short- and long-term adverse events (AE) in G-CSF stimulated donors. All consecutive granulocyte donors from 1994 to 2012 were identified through our registry. From the donation records, the number of aphereses, stimulation therapy, AE, blood values post donation, and recent status were evaluated. One hundred fifty-four volunteer donors were mobilized for 359 collections. Age at first granulocyte donation was 43 years (median; range 19-64 years). Follow-up was 60 months (median; range 0-229 months). The dose of G-CSF per collection was 3.8 ug/kg body weight (median; range 1.6-6.0 ug/kg). Sedimentation agent was HES. Short-term AE were mild. Blood values 4 weeks post donation with minor reductions/elevations mostly resolved in later donations. Fourteen donors were excluded from the registry due to hypertension (4), diabetes (2), atrial flutter (1), breast carcinoma (1), urethral carcinoma in situ (1), MGUS (1), thrombosis (1), anaphylaxis (1), primary biliary cirrhosis (1), and unknown (1). Three donors are deceased due to diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, and unknown cause. All excluded/deceased donors except one were excluded/died at least 6 months after first granulocyte donation. No serious short-term AE were observed. Due to the variability of diagnoses among excluded/deceased donors, we propose that it is less likely that granulocyte donations have a causative impact on these donors' exclusion or death. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Donor management parameters and organ yield: single center results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, George Ryne; Mangus, Richard S; Powelson, John A; Fridell, Jonathan A; Kubal, Chandrashekhar A; Tector, A Joseph

    2014-09-01

    Management of organ donors in the intensive care unit is an emerging subject in critical care and transplantation. This study evaluates organ yield outcomes for a large number of patients managed by the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization. This is a retrospective review of intensive care unit records from 2008-2012. Donor demographic information and seven donor management parameters (DMP) were recorded at admission, consent, 12 h after consent, and before procurement. Three study groups were created: donors meeting 0-3, 4, or 5-7 DMP. Active donor Organ Procurement Organization management began at consent; so, data analysis focuses on the 12-h postconsent time point. Outcomes included organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) and transplantation of individual solid organs. Complete records for 499 patients were reviewed. Organ yield was 1415 organs of 3992 possible (35%). At 12 h, donors meeting more DMP had more OTPD: 2.2 (0-3) versus 3.0 (4) versus 3.5 (5-7) (P organ except intestine. Oxygen tension, vasopressor use, and central venous pressure were the most frequent independent predictors of organ usage. There were significantly more organs transplanted for donors meeting all three of these parameters (4.5 versus 2.7, P organs, with analysis of individual parameters suggesting that appropriate management of oxygenation, volume status, and vasopressor use could lead to more organs procured per donor. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Evaluation of the return rate of volunteer blood donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana de Fátima Lourençon

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: To convert first-time blood donors into regular volunteer donors is a challenge to transfusion services. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the return rate of first time donors of the Ribeirão Preto Blood Center and of other blood centers in its coverage region. METHODS: The histories of 115,553 volunteer donors between 1996 and 2005 were analyzed. Statistical analysis was based on a parametric long-term survival model that allows an estimation of the proportion of donors who never return for further donations. RESULTS: Only 40% of individuals return within one year after the first donation and 53% return within two years. It is estimated that 30% never return to donate. Higher return rates were observed among Black donors. No significant difference was found in non-return rates regarding gender, blood type, Rh blood group and blood collection unit. CONCLUSIONS: The low percentage of first-time donors who return for further blood donation reinforces the need for marketing actions and strategies aimed at increasing the return rates.

  15. Scalable quantum computer architecture with coupled donor-quantum dot qubits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenkel, Thomas; Lo, Cheuk Chi; Weis, Christoph; Lyon, Stephen; Tyryshkin, Alexei; Bokor, Jeffrey

    2014-08-26

    A quantum bit computing architecture includes a plurality of single spin memory donor atoms embedded in a semiconductor layer, a plurality of quantum dots arranged with the semiconductor layer and aligned with the donor atoms, wherein a first voltage applied across at least one pair of the aligned quantum dot and donor atom controls a donor-quantum dot coupling. A method of performing quantum computing in a scalable architecture quantum computing apparatus includes arranging a pattern of single spin memory donor atoms in a semiconductor layer, forming a plurality of quantum dots arranged with the semiconductor layer and aligned with the donor atoms, applying a first voltage across at least one aligned pair of a quantum dot and donor atom to control a donor-quantum dot coupling, and applying a second voltage between one or more quantum dots to control a Heisenberg exchange J coupling between quantum dots and to cause transport of a single spin polarized electron between quantum dots.

  16. Quantification of body iron and iron absorption in the REDS-II Donor Iron Status Evaluation (RISE) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiss, Joseph E; Birch, Rebecca J; Steele, Whitney R; Wright, David J; Cable, Ritchard G

    2017-07-01

    Repeated blood donation alters the iron balance of blood donors. We quantified these effects by analyzing changes in body iron as well as calculating iron absorbed per day for donors enrolled in a prospective study. For 1308 donors who completed a final study visit, we calculated total body iron at the enrollment and final visits and the change in total body iron over the course of the study. Taking into account iron lost from blood donations during the study and obligate losses, we also calculated the average amount of iron absorbed per day. First-time/reactivated donors at enrollment had iron stores comparable to previous general population estimates. Repeat donors had greater donation intensity and greater mean iron losses than first-time/reactivated donors, yet they had little change in total body iron over the study period, whereas first-time/reactivated donors had an average 35% drop. There was higher estimated iron absorption in the repeat donors (men: 4.49 mg/day [95% confidence interval [CI], 4.41-4.58 mg/day]; women: 3.75 mg/day [95% CI, 3.67-3.84 mg/day]) compared with estimated iron absorption in first-time/reactivated donors (men: 2.89 mg/day [95% CI, 2.75-3.04 mg/day]; women: 2.76 mg/day [95% CI, 2.64-2.87 mg/day]). The threshold for negative estimated iron stores (below "0" mg/kg stores) was correlated with the development of anemia at a plasma ferritin value of 10 ng/mL. These analyses provide quantitative data on changes in estimated total body iron for a broad spectrum of blood donors. In contrast to using ferritin alone, this model allows assessment of the iron content of red blood cells and the degree of both iron surplus and depletion over time. © 2017 AABB.

  17. Evaluation of low red blood cell mean corpuscular volume in an apheresis donor population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Barbara J; Hopkins, Julie A; Arceo, Sarah M; Leitman, Susan F

    2009-09-01

    Apheresis donors are routinely evaluated with a complete blood count (CBC). Low red blood cell mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values (or=12.5 g/dL) could be due to iron deficiency or hemoglobinopathy. The etiology of a low MCV in a healthy apheresis donor population was assessed. Predonation samples for CBC were obtained from 1162 consecutive apheresis donors. Donors with a MCV of less than 80 fL were evaluated by CBC, iron studies (ferritin, serum iron, transferrin, percentage of transferrin saturation), and hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis. Iron deficiency was defined as a ferritin value below the reference range. Beta chain Hb variants were determined by Hb electrophoresis. Alpha thalassemia trait was presumed if the red blood cell (RBC) count was elevated, no variant Hbs were detected, and the iron studies were within normal ranges. In a 19-month period, 33 of 1162 apheresis donors had low MCV values. Iron deficiency was present in 64%; 49% had isolated iron deficiency and 15% had iron deficiency plus hemoglobinopathy. Hemoglobinopathy without concomitant iron deficiency was found in the remaining 36%. Iron deficiency is present in the majority of apheresis donors with repeatedly low MCV values and Hb levels of 12.5 g/dL or more. Hemoglobinopathy is also commonly present but may not be easily recognized in the setting of iron deficiency. The MCV is a useful screening tool to detect iron deficiency and hemoglobinopathy. Low MCV values should be investigated to determine if iron replacement therapy is indicated.

  18. Detection of cytomegalovirus in blood donors by PCR using the digene SHARP signal system assay: effects of sample preparation and detection methodology.

    OpenAIRE

    Krajden, M; Shankaran, P; Bourke, C; Lau, W

    1996-01-01

    Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of transfusion-associated morbidity and mortality; however, only 0.4 to 12% of the blood products obtained from seropositive blood donors transmit infection. The effects of three commercially available whole-blood sample preparation kits on the detection of CMV PCR products by a semiquantitative adaptation of the Digene SHARP Signal System Assay (DSSSA) in samples from volunteer blood donors was assessed. Of 101 samples from seropositive blood donor...

  19. Potential donor families' experiences of organ and tissue donation-related communication, processes and outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marck, C H; Neate, S L; Skinner, M; Dwyer, B; Hickey, B B; Radford, S T; Weiland, T J; Jelinek, G A

    2016-01-01

    We aimed to describe the experiences of families of potential organ and tissue donors eligible for donation after circulatory death or brain death. Forty-nine family members of potential donors from four Melbourne hospitals were interviewed to assess their experiences of communication, processes and the outcomes of donation. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Families expressed a range of perspectives on themes of communication, hospital processes and care, the processes of consent and donation and reflected on decisions and outcomes. They expressed satisfaction overall with communication when receiving bad news, discussing death and donation. Honest and frank communication and being kept up-to-date and prepared for potential outcomes were important aspects for families, especially those of post circulatory death donors. Participants reported high levels of trust in healthcare professionals and satisfaction with the level of care received. Many donor families indicated the process was lengthy and stressful, but not significantly enough to adversely affect their satisfaction with the outcome. Both the decision itself and knowing others' lives had been saved provided them with consolation. No consenting families, and only some non-consenting families, regretted their decisions. Many expressed they would benefit from a follow-up opportunity to ask questions and clarify possible misunderstandings. Overall, while experiences varied, Australian families valued frank communication, trusted health professionals, were satisfied with the care their family member received and with donation processes, despite some apparent difficulties. Family satisfaction, infrequently assessed, is an important outcome and these findings may assist education for Australian organ donation professionals.

  20. Using a Geographic Information System to Assess Site Suitability for Managed Aquifer Recharge using Stormwater Capture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teo, E. K.; Harmon, R. E.; Beganskas, S.; Young, K. S.; Fisher, A. T.; Weir, W. B.; Lozano, S.

    2015-12-01

    We are completing a regional analysis of Santa Cruz and northern Monterey Counties, CA, to assess the conditions amenable to managed aquifer recharge using stormwater runoff. Communities and water supply agencies across CA are struggling to mitigate the ongoing drought and to develop secure and sustainable water supplies to support long-term municipal, agricultural, environmental and other needs. Enhanced storage of groundwater is an important part of this effort in many basins. This work is especially timely because of the recently enacted "Sustainable Groundwater Management Act" (SGMA), which requires the development of groundwater sustainability agencies and implementation of basin management plans in coming decades. Our analysis focuses specifically on the distributed collection of stormwater runoff, a water source that has typically been treated as a nuisance or waste, from drainages having an area on the order of 40-160 hectares. The first part of this project is a geographic information system (GIS) analysis using surface and subsurface data sets. Developing complete and accurate datasets across the study region required considerable effort to locate, assemble, co-register, patch, and reconcile information from many sources and scales. We have complete spatial coverage for surface data, but subsurface data is more limited in lateral extent. Sites that are most suitable for distributed stormwater capture supporting MAR have high soil infiltration capacity, are well-connected to an underlying aquifer with good transmissive and storage properties, and have space to receive MAR. Additional considerations include method of infiltration, slope, and land use and access. Based on initial consideration of surface data and slope, 7% of the complete study region appears to be "suitable or highly suitable" for MAR (in the top third of the rating system), but there is considerable spatial heterogeneity based on the distribution of shallow soils and bedrock geology.

  1. [Is there an age limit for cadaveric kidney donors currently?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cofán Pujol, F; Oppenheimer Salinas, F; Talbot-Wright, R; Carretero González, P

    1996-12-01

    The insufficient number of kidney transplants has gradually raised the age limit to the cadaver kidney donor. The use of grafts harvested from older donors has been debated due to the existing structural and functional changes that might influence renal function and long-term graft survival. The foregoing aspects are discussed herein. The anatomical, histological and functional changes in the kidney associated with ageing are analyzed. The clinical experience with renal grafts from older donors before and after cyclosporine became available are reviewed. The ethical issues on whether grafts from very old donors should be used and who should receive these grafts are discussed. The use of grafts from donors over 60 years old had no significant short and medium term differences in comparison with younger donors in terms of graft survival, although a higher incidence of acute tubular necrosis and poor renal function have been observed. There are no conclusive studies on the long-term effects on graft survival when kidneys from donors aged over 65 are utilized. In our experience, the results achieved with grafts from donors over 70 has been unsatisfactory. The guidelines utilized in the selection of grafts derived from older donors are presented. Grafts from donors aged 60 to 70 may be utilized in renal transplantation following precise selection criteria. Graft survival has been satisfactory, although a higher incidence of acute tubular necrosis and higher creatinine levels have been observed. We do not advocate the use of grafts from donors over 70, except in very exceptional cases. Long-term multicenter studies on grafts from very old donors and trials using alternative immunosuppressor modalities that might permit optimal use of these grafts are warranted.

  2. Use of computed tomography assessed kidney length to predict split renal GFR in living kidney donors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaillard, Francois; Fournier, Catherine; Leon, Carine; Legendre, Christophe [Paris Descartes University, AP-HP, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Renal Transplantation Department, Paris (France); Pavlov, Patrik [Linkoeping University, Linkoeping (Sweden); Tissier, Anne-Marie; Correas, Jean-Michel [Paris Descartes University, AP-HP, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Radiology Department, Paris (France); Harache, Benoit; Hignette, Chantal; Weinmann, Pierre [Paris Descartes University, AP-HP, Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou, Nuclear Medicine Department, Paris (France); Eladari, Dominique [Paris Descartes University, and INSERM, Unit 970, AP-HP, Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou, Physiology Department, Paris (France); Timsit, Marc-Olivier; Mejean, Arnaud [Paris Descartes University, AP-HP, Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou, Urology Department, Paris (France); Friedlander, Gerard; Courbebaisse, Marie [Paris Descartes University, and INSERM, Unit 1151, AP-HP, Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou, Physiology Department, Paris (France); Houillier, Pascal [Paris Descartes University, INSERM, Unit umrs1138, and CNRS Unit erl8228, AP-HP, Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou, Physiology Department, Paris (France)

    2017-02-15

    Screening of living kidney donors may require scintigraphy to split glomerular filtration rate (GFR). To determine the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) to split GFR, we compared scintigraphy-split GFR to CT-split GFR. We evaluated CT-split GFR as a screening test to detect scintigraphy-split GFR lower than 40 mL/min/1.73 m{sup 2}/kidney. This was a monocentric retrospective study on 346 potential living donors who had GFR measurement, renal scintigraphy, and CT. We predicted GFR for each kidney by splitting GFR using the following formula: Volume-split GFR for a given kidney = measured GFR*[volume of this kidney/(volume of this kidney + volume of the opposite kidney)]. The same formula was used for length-split GFR. We compared length- and volume-split GFR to scintigraphy-split GFR at donation and with a 4-year follow-up. A better correlation was observed between length-split GFR and scintigraphy-split GFR (r = 0.92) than between volume-split GFR and scintigraphy-split GFR (r = 0.89). A length-split GFR threshold of 45 mL/min/1.73 m{sup 2}/kidney had a sensitivity of 100 % and a specificity of 75 % to detect scintigraphy-split GFR less than 40 mL/min/1.73 m{sup 2}/kidney. Both techniques with their respective thresholds detected living donors with similar eGFR evolution during follow-up. Length-split GFR can be used to detect patients requiring scintigraphy. (orig.)

  3. Use of computed tomography assessed kidney length to predict split renal GFR in living kidney donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaillard, Francois; Fournier, Catherine; Leon, Carine; Legendre, Christophe; Pavlov, Patrik; Tissier, Anne-Marie; Correas, Jean-Michel; Harache, Benoit; Hignette, Chantal; Weinmann, Pierre; Eladari, Dominique; Timsit, Marc-Olivier; Mejean, Arnaud; Friedlander, Gerard; Courbebaisse, Marie; Houillier, Pascal

    2017-01-01

    Screening of living kidney donors may require scintigraphy to split glomerular filtration rate (GFR). To determine the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) to split GFR, we compared scintigraphy-split GFR to CT-split GFR. We evaluated CT-split GFR as a screening test to detect scintigraphy-split GFR lower than 40 mL/min/1.73 m"2/kidney. This was a monocentric retrospective study on 346 potential living donors who had GFR measurement, renal scintigraphy, and CT. We predicted GFR for each kidney by splitting GFR using the following formula: Volume-split GFR for a given kidney = measured GFR*[volume of this kidney/(volume of this kidney + volume of the opposite kidney)]. The same formula was used for length-split GFR. We compared length- and volume-split GFR to scintigraphy-split GFR at donation and with a 4-year follow-up. A better correlation was observed between length-split GFR and scintigraphy-split GFR (r = 0.92) than between volume-split GFR and scintigraphy-split GFR (r = 0.89). A length-split GFR threshold of 45 mL/min/1.73 m"2/kidney had a sensitivity of 100 % and a specificity of 75 % to detect scintigraphy-split GFR less than 40 mL/min/1.73 m"2/kidney. Both techniques with their respective thresholds detected living donors with similar eGFR evolution during follow-up. Length-split GFR can be used to detect patients requiring scintigraphy. (orig.)

  4. Donor deferral due to anemia: A tertiary care center-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahadur Shalini

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The minimum hemoglobin cutoff for blood donation in India is 12.5 gm% for both male and female donors and the minimum donation interval is 3 months. Donation of one unit of blood results in decrease in hemoglobin by 1 gm% and loss of 200-250 mg of iron. Donor deferral due to anemia is one of the major reasons of temporary rejection of blood donors. In the absence of further workup or advise, it results in loss of valuable donor base. Aim and Objective: To provide baseline information regarding the prevalence and spectrum of anemia in prospective blood donors to help plan a future strategy for donor management. Materials and Methods: Hemoglobin testing of donors was performed using Hemocue and Copper sulfate specific gravity method. Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid sample of all the donors who failed either or both the screening tests was tested on automated analyzer for evaluation of hemoglobin and red blood cell indices. Results: Of all the donors, 15.5% were deferred due to anemia. Prevalence of anemia in prospective blood donors was 1.8%. It was significantly higher in female donors compared with male donors (34.2% vs 1.2%. The most common type of anemia was normocytic normochromic.

  5. Deceased-Donor Apolipoprotein L1 Renal-Risk Variants Have Minimal Effects on Liver Transplant Outcomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Casey R Dorr

    Full Text Available Apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1 G1 and G2 renal-risk variants, common in populations with recent African ancestry, are strongly associated with non-diabetic nephropathy, end-stage kidney disease, and shorter allograft survival in deceased-donor kidneys (autosomal recessive inheritance. Circulating APOL1 protein is synthesized primarily in the liver and hydrodynamic gene delivery of APOL1 G1 and G2 risk variants has caused hepatic necrosis in a murine model.To evaluate the impact of these variants in liver transplantation, this multicenter study investigated the association of APOL1 G1 and G2 alleles in deceased African American liver donors with allograft survival. Transplant recipients were followed for liver allograft survival using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.Of the 639 liver donors evaluated, 247 had no APOL1 risk allele, 300 had 1 risk allele, and 92 had 2 risk alleles. Graft failure assessed at 15 days, 6 months, 1 year and total was not significantly associated with donor APOL1 genotype (p-values = 0.25, 0.19, 0.67 and 0.89, respectively.In contrast to kidney transplantation, deceased-donor APOL1 G1 and G2 risk variants do not significantly impact outcomes in liver transplantation.

  6. Kidney for sale by live donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahams, D

    1989-02-04

    The capacity to consent to bodily harm is explored in relation to the trade in kidneys obtained from impoverished healthy live donors for cash. The British medical profession has unambiguously condemned the practice, but the law in Britain allows a donor to consent to serious injury where the act had some social purpose, recognized by the law as valid. Allegations against the private Humana Hospital Wellington that indigent Turks were brought to Britain to be paid kidney donors, and similar practices elsewhere, are discussed. Questions are raised about the illegality of such contracts in Britain and the possibility of a Parliamentary Act making brokerage and involvement with such cash transactions a criminal offense.

  7. Preoperative evaluation of hilar vessel anatomy with 3-D computerized tomography in living kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tombul, S T; Aki, F T; Gunay, M; Inci, K; Hazirolan, T; Karcaaltincaba, M; Erkan, I; Bakkaloglu, A; Yasavul, U; Bakkaloglu, M

    2008-01-01

    Digital subtract angiography is the gold standard for anatomic assessment of renal vasculature for living renal donors. However, multidetector-row computerized tomography (MDCT) is less invasive than digital subtract angiography and provides information of kidney stones and other intra-abdominal organs. In this study, preoperative MDCT angiography results were compared with the peroperative findings to evaluate the accuracy of MDCT for the evaluation of renal anatomy. From December 2002 to May 2007, all 60 consecutive living kidney donors were evaluated with MDCT angiography preoperatively. We reported the number and origin of renal arteries, presence of early branching arteries, and any intrinsic renal artery disease. Renal venous anatomy was evaluated for the presence of accessory, retroaortic, and circumaortic veins using venous phase axial images. The calyces and ureters were assessed with delayed topograms. The results of the MDCT angiography were compared with the peroperative findings. A total of 67 renal arteries were seen peroperatively in 60 renal units. Preoperative MDCT angiography detected 64 of them. The two arteries not detected by MDCT had diameters less than 3 mm. Anatomic variations were present in nine veins, five of which were detected by CT angiography. Sensitivity of MDCT angiography for arteries and veins was 95% and 93%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 100% for both arteries and veins. MDCT angiography offers a less invasive, rapid, and accurate preoperative investigation modality for vascular anatomy in living kidney donors. It also provides sufficient information about extrarenal anatomy important for donor surgery.

  8. Expanding the donor lung pool: how many donations after circulatory death organs are we missing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chancellor, William Zachary; Charles, Eric J; Mehaffey, James Hunter; Hawkins, Robert B; Foster, Carrie A; Sharma, Ashish K; Laubach, Victor E; Kron, Irving L; Tribble, Curtis G

    2018-03-01

    The number of patients with end-stage pulmonary disease awaiting lung transplantation is at an all-time high, while the supply of available organs remains stagnant. Utilizing donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors may help to address the supply-demand mismatch. The objective of this study is to determine the potential donor pool expansion with increased procurement of DCD organs from patients who die at hospitals. The charts of all patients who died at a single, rural, quaternary-care institution between August 2014 and June 2015 were reviewed for lung transplant candidacy. Inclusion criteria were age 65 y (n = 497, 58%). Those without cancer totaled 778 (90.8%) and 512 (59%) did not have lung pathology. This leaves 85 patients qualifying for DCD lung donation (pediatric n = 10, young n = 75, and old n = 0). Potential donors were significantly more likely to have clear chest X-rays (24.3% versus 10.0%, P < 0.0001) and higher mean PaO2/FiO2 (342.1 versus 197.9, P < 0.0001) compared with ineligible patients. A significant number of DCD lungs are available every year from patients who die within hospitals. We estimate the use of suitable DCD lungs could potentially result in a significant increase in the number of lungs available for transplantation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Electrostatically defined silicon quantum dots with counted antimony donor implants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, M., E-mail: msingh@sandia.gov; Luhman, D. R.; Lilly, M. P. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States); Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87175 (United States); Pacheco, J. L.; Perry, D.; Garratt, E.; Ten Eyck, G.; Bishop, N. C.; Wendt, J. R.; Manginell, R. P.; Dominguez, J.; Pluym, T.; Bielejec, E.; Carroll, M. S. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

    2016-02-08

    Deterministic control over the location and number of donors is crucial to donor spin quantum bits (qubits) in semiconductor based quantum computing. In this work, a focused ion beam is used to implant antimony donors in 100 nm × 150 nm windows straddling quantum dots. Ion detectors are integrated next to the quantum dots to sense the implants. The numbers of donors implanted can be counted to a precision of a single ion. In low-temperature transport measurements, regular Coulomb blockade is observed from the quantum dots. Charge offsets indicative of donor ionization are also observed in devices with counted donor implants.

  10. Donor cross-linking for keratoplasty: a laboratory evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Achyut; Hayes, Sally; Aslanides, Ioannis; Lanchares, Elena; Meek, Keith M

    2015-12-01

    This laboratory-based investigation compares the topographic outcomes of conventional penetrating keratoplasty with that of a novel procedure in which donor corneas are cross-linked prior to keratoplasty. Penetrating keratoplasty procedures with continuous running sutures were carried out in a porcine whole globe model. Sixty eyes were randomly paired as 'donor' and 'host' tissue before being assigned to one of two groups. In the cross-linked group, donor corneas underwent riboflavin/UVA cross-linking prior to being trephined and sutured to untreated hosts. In the conventional keratoplasty group, both host and donor corneas remained untreated prior to keratoplasty. Topographic and corneal wavefront measurements were performed following surgery, and technical aspects of the procedure evaluated. Mean keratometric astigmatism was significantly lower in the cross-linked donor group at 3.67D (SD 1.8 D), vs. 8.43 D (SD 2.4 D) in the conventional keratoplasty group (p < 0.005). Mean wavefront astigmatism was also significantly reduced in the cross-linked donor group 4.71 D (SD 2.1) vs. 8.29D (SD 3.6) in the conventional keratoplasty group (p < 0.005). Mean RMS higher order aberration was significantly lower in the cross-linked donor group at 1.79 um (SD 0.98), vs. 3.05 um (SD 1.9) in the conventional keratoplasty group (P = 0.02). Qualitative analysis revealed less tissue distortion at the graft-host junction in the cross-linked group. Cross-linking of donor corneas prior to keratoplasty reduces intraoperative induced astigmatism and aberrations in an animal model. Further studies are indicated to evaluate the implications of this potential modification of keratoplasty surgery.

  11. Landau levels and shallow donor states in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells at mega-gauss magnetic fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zybert, M. [Univ. of Rzeszow, Pigonia (Poland); Marchweka, M. [Univ. of Rzeszow, Pigonia (Poland); Sheregii, E. M. [Center for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, University of Rzeszow; Rickel, Dwight Gene [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Betts, Jonathan Bobby [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Balakirev, Fedor Fedorovich [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gordon, Michael Joseph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stier, Andreas V. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Mielke, Charles H. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Pfeffer, P. [Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Warsaw (Poland); Zawadski, W. [Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Warsaw (Poland)

    2017-03-06

    Landau levels and shallow donor states in multiple GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (MQWs) are investigated by means of the cyclotron resonance at mega-gauss magnetic fields. Measurements of magneto-optical transitions were performed in pulsed fields up to 140 T and temperatures from 6 to 300 K. The 14 x 14 P.p band model for GaAs is used to interpret free-electron transitions in a magnetic field. Temperature behavior of the observed resonant structure indicates, in addition to the free-electron Landau states, contributions of magneto-donor states in the GaAs wells and possibly in the AlGaAs barriers. The magneto-donor energies are calculated using a variational procedure suitable for high magnetic fields and accounting for conduction band nonparabolicity in GaAs. It is shown that the above states, including their spin splitting, allow one to interpret the observed mengeto-optical transitions in MQWs in the middle infrared region. Our experimental and theoretical results at very high magnetic fields are consistent with the picture used previously for GaAs/AlGaAs MQWs at lower magnetic fields.

  12. Accumulation of GC donor splice signals in mammals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koonin Eugene V

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The GT dinucleotide in the first two intron positions is the most conserved element of the U2 donor splice signals. However, in a small fraction of donor sites, GT is replaced by GC. A substantial enrichment of GC in donor sites of alternatively spliced genes has been observed previously in human, nematode and Arabidopsis, suggesting that GC signals are important for regulation of alternative splicing. We used parsimony analysis to reconstruct evolution of donor splice sites and inferred 298 GT > GC conversion events compared to 40 GC > GT conversion events in primate and rodent genomes. Thus, there was substantive accumulation of GC donor splice sites during the evolution of mammals. Accumulation of GC sites might have been driven by selection for alternative splicing. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Jerzy Jurka and Anton Nekrutenko. For the full reviews, please go to the Reviewers' Reports section.

  13. Zn vacancy-donor impurity complexes in ZnO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frodason, Y. K.; Johansen, K. M.; Bjørheim, T. S.; Svensson, B. G.; Alkauskas, A.

    2018-03-01

    Results from hybrid density functional theory calculations on the thermodynamic stability and optical properties of the Zn vacancy (VZn) complexed with common donor impurities in ZnO are reported. Complexing VZn with donors successively removes its charge-state transition levels in the band gap, starting from the most negative one. Interestingly, the presence of a donor leads only to modest shifts in the positions of the VZn charge-state transition levels, the sign and magnitude of which can be interpreted from a polaron energetics model by taking hole-donor repulsion into account. By employing a one-dimensional configuration coordinate model, luminescence lineshapes and positions were calculated. Due to the aforementioned effects, the isolated VZn gradually changes from a mainly nonradiative defect with transitions in the infrared region in n -type material, to a radiative one with broad emission in the visible range when complexed with shallow donors.

  14. Preoperative imaging in 78 living kidney donors using CE-MRA and DSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemke, U.; Taupitz, M.; Hamm, B.; Kroencke, T.J.; Kluener, C.; Giessing, M.; Schoenberger, B.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: to evaluate contrast-enhanced 3D magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in comparison with the intraoperative findings in living kidney donors. Materials and methods: a total of 156 kidneys in 78 potential kidney donors were prospectively examined using CE-MRA (0.2 mmol Gd/kg, voxel size 1.3 x 0.8 x 2.0) and DSA. Two experienced radiologists assessed the images in consensus regarding the renal vascular anatomy and variants. The results for the 67 candidates accepted for donation were compared to the intraoperative findings. In the other kidneys not accepted for donor nephrectomy, MRA and DSA were compared with each other. Results: nineteen arterial variants were identified intraoperatively, of which 11 (58%) were also detected by preoperative CE-MRA and 10 (53%) by preoperative DSA. Of the 10 venous variants found intraoperatively, CE-MRA detected 8 (80%) and DSA 3 (30%). The agreement (kappa test) between MRI and DSA for all 156 evaluated kidneys was 0.7 for arterial variants (McNemar p = 0.12) and 0.3 for venous variants (McNemar p = 0.01). The preoperative choice of kidney (right or left) made on the basis of the renal vascular anatomy seen on CE-MRA and DSA differed in 22% of the 78 potential donors (McNemar P = 0.3). (orig.)

  15. Maternal intake of methyl-group donors affects DNA methylation of metabolic genes in infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauwels, Sara; Ghosh, Manosij; Duca, Radu Corneliu; Bekaert, Bram; Freson, Kathleen; Huybrechts, Inge; Langie, Sabine A S; Koppen, Gudrun; Devlieger, Roland; Godderis, Lode

    2017-01-01

    Maternal nutrition during pregnancy and infant nutrition in the early postnatal period (lactation) are critically involved in the development and health of the newborn infant. The Maternal Nutrition and Offspring's Epigenome (MANOE) study was set up to assess the effect of maternal methyl-group donor intake (choline, betaine, folate, methionine) on infant DNA methylation. Maternal intake of dietary methyl-group donors was assessed using a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Before and during pregnancy, we evaluated maternal methyl-group donor intake through diet and supplementation (folic acid) in relation to gene-specific ( IGF2 DMR, DNMT1 , LEP , RXRA ) buccal epithelial cell DNA methylation in 6 months old infants ( n  = 114) via pyrosequencing. In the early postnatal period, we determined the effect of maternal choline intake during lactation (in mothers who breast-fed for at least 3 months) on gene-specific buccal DNA methylation ( n  = 65). Maternal dietary and supplemental intake of methyl-group donors (folate, betaine, folic acid), only in the periconception period, was associated with buccal cell DNA methylation in genes related to growth ( IGF2 DMR), metabolism ( RXRA ), and appetite control ( LEP ). A negative association was found between maternal folate and folic acid intake before pregnancy and infant LEP (slope = -1.233, 95% CI -2.342; -0.125, p  = 0.0298) and IGF2 DMR methylation (slope = -0.706, 95% CI -1.242; -0.107, p  = 0.0101), respectively. Positive associations were observed for maternal betaine (slope = 0.875, 95% CI 0.118; 1.633, p  = 0.0241) and folate (slope = 0.685, 95% CI 0.245; 1.125, p  = 0.0027) intake before pregnancy and RXRA methylation. Buccal DNMT1 methylation in the infant was negatively associated with maternal methyl-group donor intake in the first and second trimester of pregnancy and negatively in the third trimester. We found no clear association between maternal choline intake

  16. Breast Milk and Hair Testing to Detect Illegal Drugs, Nicotine, and Caffeine in Donors to a Human Milk Bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escuder-Vieco, Diana; Garcia-Algar, Óscar; Joya, Xavier; Marchei, Emilia; Pichini, Simona; Pacifici, Roberta; Pallás-Alonso, Carmen Rosa

    2016-08-01

    The use of illegal drugs and tobacco is an exclusion criteria for accepting a nursing mother as a milk donor. The detection window for human milk testing is typically a few hours. Hair testing has been considered the gold standard to assess chronic exposure to these toxic substances. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of illegal drugs, nicotine, and caffeine in breast milk and hair samples from donors to assess whether these substances were being used during the donation period and the months leading up to it. Thirty-six samples of hair and breast milk were obtained from 36 donors. The tests performed identified nicotine, caffeine, morphine, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, codeine, methadone, and other substances derived therefrom. No illegal drugs were found in any of the samples analyzed. Nicotine and cotinine were found in 33.3% (12/36) of all hair samples. Among these 12 samples, 10 had cotinine concentrations consistent with cutoff values for unexposed nonsmokers, 1 had concentrations consistent with cutoff values for passive smokers, and 1 had concentrations consistent with cutoff values for active smokers. Caffeine was found in 77.7% of the hair samples and in 50% of the donor milk samples. The correlation for caffeine between donor milk and hair samples was r = 0.288, P = .0881. Donors do not use illegal drugs during either the donation period or the months leading up to it. They are occasionally exposed to tobacco smoke and almost all of them consume caffeine. © The Author(s) 2016.

  17. Current State-of-the-Art MRI for Comprehensive Evaluation of Potential Living Liver Donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jhaveri, Kartik S; Guo, Lijun; Guimarães, Luís

    2017-07-01

    This review focuses on the role of state-of-the-art MRI-based techniques for comprehensive evaluation of living donors providing single-visit assessment of the liver vasculature via MR angiography, of the biliary tract via conventional T2-weighted MR cholangiography and T1-weighted gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR cholangiography, and of hepatic steatosis via T2*-corrected multiecho chemical shift-based water-fat separation MRI and high-speed T2-corrected multiecho MR spectroscopy. By using current state-of-the-art techniques, MRI can provide a one-stop-shop method for evaluation of the potential living liver donors.

  18. Subsequent donation requests among 2472 unrelated hematopoietic progenitor cell donors are associated with bone marrow harvest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lown, Robert N.; Tulpule, Sameer; Russell, Nigel H.; Craddock, Charles F.; Roest, Rochelle; Madrigal, J. Alejandro; Shaw, Bronwen E.

    2013-01-01

    Approximately 1 in 20 unrelated donors are asked to make a second donation of hematopoietic progenitor cells, the majority for the same patient. Anthony Nolan undertook a study of subsequent hematopoietic progenitor cell donations made by its donors from 2005 to 2011, with the aims of predicting those donors more likely to be called for a second donation, assessing rates of serious adverse reactions and examining harvest yields. This was not a study of factors predictive of second allografts. During the study period 2591 donations were made, of which 120 (4.6%) were subsequent donations. The median time between donations was 179 days (range, 21–4016). Indications for a second allogeneic transplant included primary graft failure (11.7%), secondary graft failure (53.2%), relapse (30.6%) and others (1.8%). On multivariate analysis, bone marrow harvest at first donation was associated with subsequent donation requests (odds ratio 2.00, P=0.001). The rate of serious adverse reactions in donors making a subsequent donation appeared greater than the rate in those making a first donation (relative risk=3.29, P=0.005). Harvest yields per kilogram recipient body weight were equivalent between donations, although females appeared to have a lower yield at the subsequent donation. Knowledge of these factors will help unrelated donor registries to counsel their donors. PMID:23812935

  19. Impact of Donor Arterial Partial Pressure of Oxygen on Outcomes After Lung Transplantation in Adult Cystic Fibrosis Recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Don; Kopp, Benjamin T; Kirkby, Stephen E; Reynolds, Susan D; Mansour, Heidi M; Tobias, Joseph D; Tumin, Dmitry

    2016-08-01

    Donor PaO2 levels are used for assessing organs for lung transplantation (LTx), but survival implications of PaO2 levels in adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients receiving LTx are unclear. UNOS registry data spanning 2005-2013 were used to test for associations of donor PaO2 with patient survival and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) in adult (age ≥ 18 years) first-time LTx recipients diagnosed with CF. The analysis included 1587 patients, of whom 1420 had complete data for multivariable Cox models. No statistically significant differences among donor PaO2 categories of ≤200, 201-300, 301-400, or >400 mmHg were found in univariate survival analysis (log-rank test p = 0.290). BOS onset did not significantly differ across donor PaO2 categories (Chi-square p = 0.480). Multivariable Cox models of patient survival supported the lack of difference across donor PaO2 categories. Interaction analysis found a modest difference in survival between the two top categories of donor PaO2 when examining patients with body mass index (BMI) in the lowest decile (≤16.5 kg/m(2)). Donor PaO2 was not associated with survival or BOS onset in adult CF patients undergoing LTx. Notwithstanding statistically significant interactions between donor PaO2 and BMI, there was no evidence of post-LTx survival risk associated with donor PaO2 below conventional thresholds in any subgroup of adults with CF.

  20. Transplantation and differentiation of donor cells in the cloned pigs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimada, Arata; Tomii, Ryo; Kano, Koichiro; Nagashima, Hiroshi

    2006-01-01

    The application of nuclear transfer technology is an interesting approach to investigate stem and progenitor cell transplantation therapy. If stem cells are used as a nuclear donor, donor cells can engraft into cloned animals without histocompatible problems. However, it is still uncertain whether donor cells can engraft to cloned animal and differentiate in vivo. To address this problem, we transplanted donor cells to dermal tissues of cloned pigs developed by using preadipocytes as donor cells. Preadipocytes are adipocytic progenitor which can differentiate to mature adipocytes in vitro. We showed that the donor preadipocytes were successfully transplanted into the cloned pigs without immune rejection and they differentiated into mature adipocytes in vivo 3 weeks after transplantation. In contrast, allogenic control preadipocytes, which can differentiate in vitro, did not differentiate in vivo. These results indicate that donor progenitor cells can differentiate in cloned animal

  1. Breast milk donation: women's donor experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alencar, Lucienne Christine Estevez de; Seidl, Eliane Maria Fleury

    2009-02-01

    To describe the characteristics of donation behavior and identify reasons, beliefs and feelings relative to this practice, based on the reports of donor women. Personal and social-environmental aspects, which seem to affect donation behavior in donors and former donors, were also investigated. An exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with women donors at two breast-milk banks within the public health system of the Brazilian Federal District. Data was collected from July to September 2005. The participants were 36 women, aged 14 to 33 years (average=24.78; SD=5.22), with different levels of schooling, 58.3% of which were first-time mothers. Data gathering was based on interviews carried out during home visits. In addition to descriptive statistical analyses of quantitative data, a qualitative data categorical analysis was also performed. The most frequently reported reasons for donating breast milk were altruism and excess milk production. The most frequent time interval for donation was 13 days after delivery. Contact by phone with the milk bank was the most common means of communication used by the majority of participants (n=22) to obtain information that enabled the donating process. Psychosocial aspects identified and the experience of donors can contribute to the empowerment of the formal and informal social donation-support network, in addition to serving as a driver for the implementation of technical and policy strategies in promoting future donation practices.

  2. Using fertile couples as embryo donors: An ethical dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh, Leila; Omani Samani, Reza

    2014-03-01

    The use of donated embryos has offered hope for infertile couples who have no other means to have children. In Iran, fertility centers use fertile couples as embryo donors. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure will be discussed. We conclude that embryo-donation should be performed with frozen embryos thus preventing healthy donors from being harmed by fertility drugs. There must be guidelines for choosing the appropriate donor families. In countries where commercial egg donation is acceptable, fertile couples can be procured as embryo donors thus fulfilling the possible shortage of good quality embryos. Using frozen embryos seems to have less ethical, religious and legal problems when compared to the use of fertile embryo donors.

  3. Readability, complexity, and suitability of online resources for mastectomy and lumpectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Bao Ngoc N; Singh, Mansher; Singhal, Dhruv; Rudd, Rima; Lee, Bernard T

    2017-05-15

    Nearly half of American adults have low or marginal health literacy. This negatively affects patients' participation, decision-making, satisfaction, and overall outcomes especially when there is a mismatch between information provided and the skills of the intended audience. Recommendations that patient information be written below the sixth grade level have been made for over three decades. This study compares online resources for mastectomy versus lumpectomy using expanded metrics including readability level, complexity, and density of data and overall suitability for public consumption. The 10 highest ranked Web sites for mastectomy and lumpectomy were identified using the largest Internet engine (Google). Each Web site was assessed for readability (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), complexity (PMOSE/iKIRSCH), and suitability (Suitability Assessment of Materials). Scores were analyzed by each Web site and overall. Readability analysis showed a significant reading grade level difference between mastectomy and lumpectomy online information (15.4 and 13.9, P = 0.04, respectively). Complexity analysis via PMOSE/iKIRSCH revealed a mean score of 6.5 for mastectomy materials corresponding to "low" complexity and eighth to 12 th grade education. Lumpectomy literature had a lower PMOSE/iKIRSCH score of 5.8 corresponding to a "very low" complexity and fourth to eighth grade education (P = 0.05). Suitability assessment showed mean values of 41% and 46% (P = 0.83) labeled as the lowest level of "adequacy" for mastectomy and lumpectomy materials, respectively. Inter-rater reliability was high for both complexity and suitability analysis. Online resources for the surgical treatment of breast cancer are above the recommended reading grade level. The suitability level is barely adequate indicating a need for revision. Online resources for mastectomy have a higher reading grade level than do materials for lumpectomy and tend to be more complex. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

  4. LAPAROSCOPIC LEFT LATERAL SECTIONECTOMY IN LIVING LIVER DONOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Gautier

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Living donor liver transplantation has proved to be an effective, safe and radical treatment modality for patients with end-stage liver diseases. Left lateral section (LLS of donor’s liver is used in pediatric recipients. Laparoscopic LLS procurement was fi rst described by D. Cherqui in 2002. At present, this technique is routinely used only by 5 hospitals in the world. However, up to date, some authors consider it to be a new standard to perform such a surgery in living donors.Aim. To analyze the fi rst Russian experience in laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (LapLLS in living related donor.Materials and methods. From May to September 2016 fi ve LapLLS were performed in living donors. In all cases donors were women (mothers in 4 cases and aunt in 1 case. Recipients were children aged from 6 months through 3 years with body mass from 5.6 to 12.5 kg. Liver transection was carried out under conditions of maintained blood supply. Parenchymal transection was performed using a harmonic scalpel, bipolar coagulation and ultrasound dissection.Results. Average donor age was 32 ± 5 years. Average operation time was 287 ± 16 min. Average LLS graft weight was 220 ± 16 g. Intraoperative blood loss did not exceed 100 ml (95 ± 5 ml. Donors were discharged on the 3rd–4th post-op day. There were no postoperative complications in donors. Recipients were also characterized by a standard course of the postoperative period.Conclusion. LapLLS is an effective and safe method with several advantages. Primarily, these are early rehabilitation of the donors and shortening of the hospital stay, which are important for the quick return to normal way of live. Excellent visualization of anatomical structures, including vascular and biliary ones, allows performing precise selection. In addition, good cosmetic effect is also an important aspect.

  5. Donor versus no-donor comparison of newly diagnosed myeloma patients included in the HOVON-50 multiple myeloma study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lokhorst, Henk M.; van der Holt, Bronno; Cornelissen, Jan J.; Kersten, Marie-José; van Oers, Marinus; Raymakers, Reinier; Minnema, Monique C.; Zweegman, Sonja; Janssen, Jeroen J.; Zijlmans, Mark; Bos, Gerard; Schaap, Nicolaas; Wittebol, Shulamiet; de Weerdt, Okke; Ammerlaan, Rianne; Sonneveld, Pieter

    2012-01-01

    To prospectively evaluate allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) for myeloma as part of first-line therapy, a donor versus no-donor analysis was performed of patients treated in the HOVON-50 study, a study that was originally designed to examine thalidomide combined with intensive therapy.

  6. Human body donation in Thailand: Donors at Khon Kaen University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techataweewan, N; Panthongviriyakul, C; Toomsan, Y; Mothong, W; Kanla, P; Chaichun, A; Amarttayakong, P; Tayles, N

    2018-03-01

    Culture, society and spirituality contribute to variability in the characteristics of human body donors and donation programmes worldwide. The donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University, northeast Thailand, reflect all these aspects of Thailand, including the status accorded to the donors and the ceremonial acknowledgement of the donors and their families. Data from the programme records and from surveys of samples of currently registering donors and recently received donor bodies are analysed to define the characteristics of both registering and received donors, including motivation, demography, socio-economic status, health, and use of the bodies. The body donation programme at Khon Kaen University currently has a very high rate of registration of body donors, with gender and age differences in the patterns of donation. Registrants include more females than males, a long-standing pattern, and are an average age of 50 years. The bodies of 12% of registrants are received after death and include more males than females. Both sexes are of an average age of 69 years. Males had registered their donation eight years prior to death and females ten years prior. Current registrants identified altruistic motives for their decision to donate, although the coincidence of body donation by a highly revered monk with a surge in donations in 2015 suggests that Buddhism plays a primary role in motivation. The opportunity to make merit for donors and their families, and respect shown to donors and the nature of the ceremonies acknowledging the donors and their families, including the use of the Royal Flame at the cremation ceremony, all contribute to decisions to donate. The characteristics of body donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University are reflective of Thai society and the centrality of Buddhism to Thai culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  7. Assessment of land suitability for olive mill wastewater disposal site selection by integrating fuzzy logic, AHP, and WLC in a GIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydi, Abdelwaheb; Abichou, Tarek; Nasr, Imen Hamdi; Louati, Mourad; Zairi, Moncef

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a geographic information system-based multi-criteria site selection tool of an olive mill wastewater (OMW) disposal site in Sidi Bouzid Region, Tunisia. The multi-criteria decision framework integrates ten constraints and six factors that relate to environmental and economic concerns, and builds a hierarchy model for OMW disposal site suitability. The methodology is used for preliminary assessment of the most suitable OMW disposal sites by combining fuzzy set theory and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The fuzzy set theory is used to standardize factors using different fuzzy membership functions while the AHP is used to establish the relative importance of the criteria. The AHP makes pairwise comparisons of relative importance between hierarchy elements grouped by both environmental and economic decision criteria. The OMW disposal site suitability is achieved by applying a weighted linear combination that uses a comparison matrix to aggregate different importance scenarios associated with environmental and economic objectives. Three different scenarios generated by different weights applied to the two objectives. The scenario (a) assigns a weight of 0.75 to the environmental and 0.25 to the economic objective, scenario (b) has equal weights, and scenario (c) features weights of 0.25 and 0.75 for environmental and economic objectives, respectively. The results from this study assign the least suitable OMW disposal site of 2.5 % when environmental and economic objectives are rated equally, while a more suitable OMW disposal site of 1.0 % is generated when the economic objective is rated higher.

  8. Kidney transplantation from donors with rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chuan-Bao; Zheng, Yi-Tao; Zhou, Jian; Han, Ming; Wang, Xiao-Ping; Yuan, Xiao-Peng; Wang, Chang-Xi; He, Xiao-Shun

    2017-08-01

    Rhabdomyolysis in deceased donors usually causes acute renal failure (ARF), which may be considered a contraindication for kidney transplantation. From January 2012 to December 2016, 30 kidneys from 15 deceased donors with severe rhabdomyolysis and ARF were accepted for transplantation at our center. The peak serum creatinine (SCr) kinase, myoglobin, and SCr of the these donors were 15 569±8597 U/L, 37 092±42 100 μg/L, and 422±167 μmol/L, respectively. Two donors received continuous renal replacement therapy due to anuria. Six kidneys exhibited a discolored appearance (from brown to glossy black) due to myoglobin casts. The kidney transplant results from the donors with rhabdomyolysis donors were compared with those of 90 renal grafts from standard criteria donors (SCD). The estimated glomerular filtration rate at 2 years was similar between kidney transplants from donors with rhabdomyolysis and SCD (70.3±14.6 mL/min/1.73 m 2 vs 72.3±15.1 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ). We conclude that excellent graft function can be achieved from kidneys donors with ARF caused by rhabdomyolysis. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Donor-acceptor-donor thienyl/bithienyl-benzothiadiazole/quinoxaline model oligomers: experimental and theoretical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pina, João; de Melo, J Seixas; Breusov, D; Scherf, Ullrich

    2013-09-28

    A comprehensive spectral and photophysical investigation of four donor-acceptor-donor (DAD) oligomers consisting of electron-deficient 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole or quinoxaline moieties linked to electron-rich thienyl or bithienyl units has been undertaken. Additionally, a bis(dithienyl) substituted naphthalene was also investigated. The D-A-D nature of these oligomers resulted in the presence of an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state, which was further substantiated by solvatochromism studies (analysis with the Lippert-Mataga formalism). Hereby, significant differences have been obtained for the fluorescence quantum yields of the oligomers in the non-polar solvent methylcyclohexane vs. the polar ethanol. The study was further complemented with the determination of the optimized ground-state molecular geometries for the oligomers together with the prediction of the lowest vertical one-electron excitation energy and the relevant molecular orbital contours using DFT calculations. The electronic transitions show a clear HOMO to LUMO charge-transfer character. In contrast to the thiophene oligomers (the oligothiophenes with n = 1-7), where the intersystem crossing (ISC) yield decreases with n, the studied DAD oligomers were found to show an increase in the ISC efficiency with the number of (donor) thienyl units.

  10. Prediction models for hemoglobin deferral in whole blood donors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baart, A.M.

    2013-01-01

    Each year, a relevant proportion of the invited blood donors is eventually deferred from donation because of low hemoglobin (Hb) levels. Deferrals are meant to protect donors from developing iron deficiency anemia after a blood donation, however, they may increase the risk of donor lapse, even

  11. suitability of polyvinyl waste powder as partial replacement

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    eobe

    as partial replacement of cement in the production o. PWP at interval ... conducted to assess the suitability of polyvinyl waste p polyvinyl waste p .... pose a serious environmental threat because of the fact that they ... served as the control. 2.2.3.

  12. Comparison of spiral CT angiography with conventional digital subtraction angiography in the evaluation of renal transplant donors: a pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, C.; Young, N.; Lau, H.

    2001-01-01

    Conventional digital subtraction renal arteriography (IA-DSA) has been traditionally used as the preoperative imaging modality for assessment of renal vascular anatomy for renal transplant donors. This study evaluates the potential use of spiral CT angiography in replacing IA-DSA in the preoperative assessment of this group of patients. Seven patients underwent both spiral CT angiography and IA-DSA between October 1997 and April 1998. It is concluded that spiral CT angiography can demonstrate the number, length and location of renal arteries and it is suggested that spiral CT angiography can potentially replace IA-DSA in the preoperative assessment of renal donors. Copyright (2001) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

  13. Silicon quantum dots with counted antimony donor implants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Meenakshi; Pacheco, Jose; Perry, Daniel; Wendt, Joel; Manginell, Ronald; Dominguez, Jason; Pluym, Tammy; Luhman, Dwight; Bielejec, Edward; Lilly, Michael; Carroll, Malcolm

    Antimony donor implants next to silicon quantum dots have been detected with integrated solid-state diode detectors with single ion precision. Devices with counted number of donors have been fabricated and low temperature transport measurements have been performed. Charge offsets, indicative of donor ionization and coupling to the quantum dot, have been detected in these devices. The number of offsets corresponds to 10-50% of the number of donors counted. We will report on tunneling time measurements and spin readout measurements on the donor offsets. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences user facility. The work was supported by Sandia National Laboratories Directed Research and Development Program. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  14. Characterization of blood donors with high haemoglobin concentration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, K; Hasselbalch, H C; Ullum, H

    2013-01-01

    Background and Objectives  The literature contains little on the prevalence and causes of high predonation haemoglobin levels among blood donors. This study aimed to characterize and develop an algorithm to manage would-be donors with polycythaemia. Materials and Methods  Between November 2009...... and November 2011, we offered haematology consultations to blood donors with repeated haemoglobin concentration (Hb) above the WHO limit for polycythaemia vera (PV) (10·2 and 11·5 mm/16·5 and 18·5 g/dl for women and men, respectively). Investigation of such donors included Hb, haematocrit, mean cell volume......, erythropoietin, ferritin, platelet count and leucocyte count, JAK2 V617 and JAK2 exon12 analysis, as well as other routine measurements. Results  Among 46 such donors, 39 had a history of smoking, which contributes to erythrocytosis. Two had PV, five had severe hypertension, one of them because of renal artery...

  15. Handling low hemoglobin and iron deficiency in a blood donor population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, Karin; Ladelund, Steen

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency and blood donors with low hemoglobin (Hb) concentration are well-known challenges in any blood bank setting. In the Capital Region of Denmark, a new approach was adopted that centralized measurement of Hb, initiated ferritin (F) measurement, and established a center......: The change in Hb for repeat donors was followed during the first 2 years of the intervention strategy, which included measurements of F and offering intermittent iron supplementation to some of the donors. RESULTS: In 2 years, 62,663 blood donors donated 193,288 units of blood and 318 donors gave 754...... complete blood count blood samples. Over time in the repeat donors, the Hb increased from 15.39 to 15.60 g/dL and 13.85 to 14.06 g/dL in male and female donors, respectively, and the proportion of donors with low Hb decreased from 0.9% to 0.3% and 3.9% to 2.7% for the male and female donors, respectively...

  16. HFE gene mutations and iron status of Brazilian blood donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, P C J L; Cançado, R D; Terada, C T; Rostelato, S; Gonzales, I; Hirata, R D C; Hirata, M H; Chiattone, C S; Guerra-Shinohara, E M

    2010-01-01

    Mutations of the HFE and TFR2 genes have been associated with iron overload. HFE and TFR2 mutations were assessed in blood donors, and the relationship with iron status was evaluated. Subjects (N = 542) were recruited at the Hemocentro da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Iron status was not influenced by HFE mutations in women and was independent of blood donation frequency. In contrast, men carrying the HFE 282CY genotype had lower total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) than HFE 282CC genotype carriers. Men who donated blood for the first time and were carriers of the HFE 282CY genotype had higher transferrin saturation values and lower TIBC concentrations than those with the homozygous wild genotype for the HFE C282Y mutation. Moreover, in this group of blood donors, carriers of HFE 63DD plus 63HD genotypes had higher serum ferritin values than those with the homozygous wild genotype for HFE H63D mutation. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that HFE 282CY leads to a 17.21% increase (P = 0.018) and a 83.65% decrease (P = 0.007) in transferrin saturation and TIBC, respectively. In addition, serum ferritin is influenced by age (3.91%, P = 0.001) and the HFE 63HD plus DD genotype (55.84%, P = 0.021). In conclusion, the HFE 282Y and 65C alleles were rare, while the HFE 63D allele was frequent in Brazilian blood donors. The HFE C282Y and H63D mutations were associated with alterations in iron status in blood donors in a gender-dependent manner.

  17. HFE gene mutations and iron status of Brazilian blood donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.C.J.L. Santos

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Mutations of the HFE and TFR2 genes have been associated with iron overload. HFE and TFR2 mutations were assessed in blood donors, and the relationship with iron status was evaluated. Subjects (N = 542 were recruited at the Hemocentro da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Iron status was not influenced by HFE mutations in women and was independent of blood donation frequency. In contrast, men carrying the HFE 282CY genotype had lower total iron-binding capacity (TIBC than HFE 282CC genotype carriers. Men who donated blood for the first time and were carriers of the HFE 282CY genotype had higher transferrin saturation values and lower TIBC concentrations than those with the homozygous wild genotype for the HFE C282Y mutation. Moreover, in this group of blood donors, carriers of HFE 63DD plus 63HD genotypes had higher serum ferritin values than those with the homozygous wild genotype for HFE H63D mutation. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that HFE 282CY leads to a 17.21% increase (P = 0.018 and a 83.65% decrease (P = 0.007 in transferrin saturation and TIBC, respectively. In addition, serum ferritin is influenced by age (3.91%, P = 0.001 and the HFE 63HD plus DD genotype (55.84%, P = 0.021. In conclusion, the HFE 282Y and 65C alleles were rare, while the HFE 63D allele was frequent in Brazilian blood donors. The HFE C282Y and H63D mutations were associated with alterations in iron status in blood donors in a gender-dependent manner.

  18. Toxoplasmosis in Blood Donors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foroutan-Rad, Masoud; Majidiani, Hamidreza; Dalvand, Sahar; Daryani, Ahmad; Kooti, Wesam; Saki, Jasem; Hedayati-Rad, Faezeh; Ahmadpour, Ehsan

    2016-07-01

    Transfusion-transmissible infections include pathogens that may cause severe and debilitating diseases. Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan neglected parasitic infection that can lead to severe complications including death in immune-compromised patients or following infection in utero. Multiple studies have demonstrated the transmission of Toxoplasma gondii by blood transfusion. The objective of this review was to comprehensively assess the seroprevalence rate of Toxoplasma in blood donors from a worldwide perspective. Seven electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, Ovid, and Google Scholar) were searched using medical subject headings terms. A total of 43 records met the inclusion criteria in which 20,964 donors were tested during the period from January 1980 to June 2015. The overall weighted prevalence of exposure to toxoplasmosis in blood donors was 33% (95% confidence interval [CI], 28%-39%). The seroprevalences of immunoglobulin (Ig)M and both IgG and IgM antibodies were 1.8% (95% CI, 1.1%-2.4%) and 1.1% (95% CI, 0.3%-1.8%), respectively. The highest and the lowest seroprevalences of toxoplasmosis were observed in Africa (46%; 95% CI, 14%-78%) and in Asia (29%; 95% CI, 23%-35%), respectively. Brazil (75%) and Ethiopia (73%) were identified as countries with high seroprevalence. Because positive serology does not imply infectiousness and because seroprevalence is high in some nations, a positive serology test result alone cannot be used as an effective method for donor screening. Future research for methods to prevent transfusion-transmitted toxoplasmosis may derive benefit from studies conducted in areas of high endemicity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Normothermic machine perfusion for donor liver preservation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tolboom, H.

    2012-01-01

    Currently, liver transplantation is the only treatment for end-stage liver failure. Unfortunately, a sever shortage of donor organs causes significant mortality amongst patients awaiting transplantation. The donor organ shortage could be alleviated by using organs that are normally not accepted for

  20. Risk-Factor Profile of Living Kidney Donors: The Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Living Kidney Donor Registry 2004-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clayton, Philip A; Saunders, John R; McDonald, Stephen P; Allen, Richard D M; Pilmore, Helen; Saunder, Alan; Boudville, Neil; Chadban, Steven J

    2016-06-01

    Recent literature suggests that living kidney donation may be associated with an excess risk of end-stage kidney disease and death. Efforts to maximize access to transplantation may result in acceptance of donors who do not fit within current guidelines, potentially placing them at risk of adverse long-term outcomes. We studied the risk profile of Australian and New Zealand living kidney donors using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Living Kidney Donor Registry over 2004 to 2012. We compared their predonation profile against national guidelines for donor acceptance. The analysis included 2,932 donors (mean age 48.8 ± 11.2 years, range 18-81), 58% female and 87% Caucasian. Forty (1%) had measured glomerular filtration rate less than 80 mL/min; 32 (1%) had proteinuria >300 mg/day; 589 (20%) were hypertensive; 495 (18%) obese; 9 (0.3%) were diabetic while a further 55 (2%) had impaired glucose tolerance; and 218 (7%) were current smokers. Overall 767 donors (26%) had at least one relative contraindication to donation and 268 (9%) had at least one absolute contraindication according to national guidelines. Divergence of current clinical practice from national guidelines has occurred. In the context of recent evidence demonstrating elevated long-term donor risk, rigorous follow-up and reporting of outcomes are now mandated to ensure safety and document any change in risk associated with such a divergence.

  1. Combining dispersal, landscape connectivity and habitat suitability to assess climate-induced changes in the distribution of Cunningham's skink, Egernia cunninghami.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofori, Benjamin Y; Stow, Adam J; Baumgartner, John B; Beaumont, Linda J

    2017-01-01

    The ability of species to track their climate niche is dependent on their dispersal potential and the connectivity of the landscape matrix linking current and future suitable habitat. However, studies modeling climate-driven range shifts rarely address the movement of species across landscapes realistically, often assuming "unlimited" or "no" dispersal. Here, we incorporate dispersal rate and landscape connectivity with a species distribution model (Maxent) to assess the extent to which the Cunningham's skink (Egernia cunninghami) may be capable of tracking spatial shifts in suitable habitat as climate changes. Our model was projected onto four contrasting, but equally plausible, scenarios describing futures that are (relative to now) hot/wet, warm/dry, hot/with similar precipitation and warm/wet, at six time horizons with decadal intervals (2020-2070) and at two spatial resolutions: 1 km and 250 m. The size of suitable habitat was projected to decline 23-63% at 1 km and 26-64% at 250 m, by 2070. Combining Maxent output with the dispersal rate of the species and connectivity of the intervening landscape matrix showed that most current populations in regions projected to become unsuitable in the medium to long term, will be unable to shift the distance necessary to reach suitable habitat. In particular, numerous populations currently inhabiting the trailing edge of the species' range are highly unlikely to be able to disperse fast enough to track climate change. Unless these populations are capable of adaptation they are likely to be extirpated. We note, however, that the core of the species distribution remains suitable across the broad spectrum of climate scenarios considered. Our findings highlight challenges faced by philopatric species and the importance of adaptation for the persistence of peripheral populations under climate change.

  2. Combining dispersal, landscape connectivity and habitat suitability to assess climate-induced changes in the distribution of Cunningham's skink, Egernia cunninghami.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Y Ofori

    Full Text Available The ability of species to track their climate niche is dependent on their dispersal potential and the connectivity of the landscape matrix linking current and future suitable habitat. However, studies modeling climate-driven range shifts rarely address the movement of species across landscapes realistically, often assuming "unlimited" or "no" dispersal. Here, we incorporate dispersal rate and landscape connectivity with a species distribution model (Maxent to assess the extent to which the Cunningham's skink (Egernia cunninghami may be capable of tracking spatial shifts in suitable habitat as climate changes. Our model was projected onto four contrasting, but equally plausible, scenarios describing futures that are (relative to now hot/wet, warm/dry, hot/with similar precipitation and warm/wet, at six time horizons with decadal intervals (2020-2070 and at two spatial resolutions: 1 km and 250 m. The size of suitable habitat was projected to decline 23-63% at 1 km and 26-64% at 250 m, by 2070. Combining Maxent output with the dispersal rate of the species and connectivity of the intervening landscape matrix showed that most current populations in regions projected to become unsuitable in the medium to long term, will be unable to shift the distance necessary to reach suitable habitat. In particular, numerous populations currently inhabiting the trailing edge of the species' range are highly unlikely to be able to disperse fast enough to track climate change. Unless these populations are capable of adaptation they are likely to be extirpated. We note, however, that the core of the species distribution remains suitable across the broad spectrum of climate scenarios considered. Our findings highlight challenges faced by philopatric species and the importance of adaptation for the persistence of peripheral populations under climate change.

  3. Donor support for HIV/AIDS control in sub-Saharan Africa: review of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Consequent to the signing of the MDGs in year 2000, a platform was created for the ''injection'' of donor funds into countries with great need. This was to accelerate the achievement of the goals by the year 2015. This systematic review assesses the evidence of how international developmental assistance has ...

  4. Explaining differences between hospitals in number of organ donors.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Friele, R.D.; Coppen, R.; Marquet, R.L.; Gevers, J.K.M.

    2006-01-01

    The shortage of donor organs calls for a careful examination of all improvement options. In this study, 80 Dutch hospitals were compared. They provided 868 donors in a 5-year period, constituting 91% of all donors in that period in The Netherlands. Multilevel regression analysis was used to explain

  5. Bartonella spp. bacteremia in blood donors from Campinas, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitassi, Luiza Helena Urso; de Paiva Diniz, Pedro Paulo Vissotto; Scorpio, Diana Gerardi; Drummond, Marina Rovani; Lania, Bruno Grosselli; Barjas-Castro, Maria Lourdes; Gilioli, Rovilson; Colombo, Silvia; Sowy, Stanley; Breitschwerdt, Edward B; Nicholson, William L; Velho, Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira

    2015-01-01

    Bartonella species are blood-borne, re-emerging organisms, capable of causing prolonged infection with diverse disease manifestations, from asymptomatic bacteremia to chronic debilitating disease and death. This pathogen can survive for over a month in stored blood. However, its prevalence among blood donors is unknown, and screening of blood supplies for this pathogen is not routinely performed. We investigated Bartonella spp. prevalence in 500 blood donors from Campinas, Brazil, based on a cross-sectional design. Blood samples were inoculated into an enrichment liquid growth medium and sub-inoculated onto blood agar. Liquid culture samples and Gram-negative isolates were tested using a genus specific ITS PCR with amplicons sequenced for species identification. Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana antibodies were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence. B. henselae was isolated from six donors (1.2%). Sixteen donors (3.2%) were Bartonella-PCR positive after culture in liquid or on solid media, with 15 donors infected with B. henselae and one donor infected with Bartonella clarridgeiae. Antibodies against B. henselae or B. quintana were found in 16% and 32% of 500 blood donors, respectively. Serology was not associated with infection, with only three of 16 Bartonella-infected subjects seropositive for B. henselae or B. quintana. Bartonella DNA was present in the bloodstream of approximately one out of 30 donors from a major blood bank in South America. Negative serology does not rule out Bartonella spp. infection in healthy subjects. Using a combination of liquid and solid cultures, PCR, and DNA sequencing, this study documents for the first time that Bartonella spp. bacteremia occurs in asymptomatic blood donors. Our findings support further evaluation of Bartonella spp. transmission which can occur through blood transfusions.

  6. GAMBARAN ANTI HBc POSITIF PADA DONOR DARAH DENGAN HbsAG NEGATIF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susila Sastri

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available AbstrakPemeriksaan HBsAg saja untuk skrining hepatitis B (HBV belum dapat menjamin donor darah bebas dari HBV sehingga darah donor belum memenuhi persyaratan untuk ditransfusikan. Darah donor yang akan ditranfusikan hendaklah memenuhi syarat diantaranya donor tidak pernah menderita HBV. Skrining darah donor terhadap HBV pada PMI hanya dengan uji HBsAg saja dimana HBsAg akan negatif pada stadium HBV tertentu, pada hal donor menderita atau dalam masa penyembuhan HBV. Anti-HBc dapat memberi informasi tentang perjalanan HBV bila digabungkan dengan marker HBV lain dan anti-HBc bertahan lebih lama dalam darah dibandingkan dengan marker lain. Donor darah HBsAg negatif dengan anti-HBc positif dari beberapa penelitian terdahulu masih ada yang mengandung HBV-DNA dan dapat menularkan HBV.Telah dilakukan penelitian terhadap donor darah dengan melakukan uji anti-HBc secara deskriptif terhadap donor darah dengan HBsAg negatif (n=100 pada UTD PMI Cabang Padang secara cross sectional study. Sampel diambil secara proportional random sampling. Darah sampel adalah darah HBsAg negatif dengan VDRL, HVC, HIV  negatif , semuanya diperiksa dengan dengan ELISATujuan penelitian untuk melihat gambaran anti-HBc positif pada donor darah dengan HBsAg negatif dan melihat hubungan antara indeks HBsAg dengan indeks anti-HBc. Pemeriksaan anti-HBc dilakukan dengan ELISA, alat dan reagen keluaran yang sama.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan frekuensi anti-HBc positif pada donor darah dengan HBsAg negatif sebanyak 27%, terutama pada laki-laki berumur antara 20-29 tahun (44,4%. Terdapat korelasi positif antara indeks HBsAg negatif dengan indeks anti-HBc (r = 0,02. Anti-HBc positif banyak ditemukan pada indeks HBsAg negatif 0,21-0,60 (76%.Kesimpulan, darah donor dengan HBsAg negatif yang selama ini dianggap aman untuk transfusi terbukti masih mungkin menularkan HBV dengan ditemukannya anti-HBc yang positif. Karena itu perlu pemeriksaan lanjutan DNA HBV pada donor darah dengan Hbs

  7. Donor vigilance data of a blood transfusion service: A multicenter analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhardt, T; Dimanski, B; Karl, R; Sievert, U; Karl, A; Hübler, C; Tonn, T; Sopvinik, I; Ertl, H; Moog, R

    2015-10-01

    Donor vigilance is an important part of the quality management system of blood transfusion services. The evaluation of donor side effects helps to improve the donation process and donor compliance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate donor vigilance data in whole blood and plasmapheresis donors of a blood donor service. Donors fulfilling current national and European eligibility criteria underwent whole blood and plasmapheresis donation (PCS and MCS+ (Haemonetics, Braintree, USA), A 200 (Fenwal, Round Lake, USA). Whole blood was collected at fixed and mobile sites while plasmaphereses were performed at 8 plasma centers. From 2011 to 2013 donor information was provided for gender, age, body weight, height, first and repeat donation. Donors were monitored for venipuncture and circulatory associated side effects. The total incidences of adverse events were 5004 (0.56%) in repeat donors and 2111 (2.78%) in first time donors for whole blood donation and 3323 (1.01%) and 514 (7.96%) for plasmaphereses, respectively. Circulatory associated events were 2679 (0.30%) for whole blood donation and 1624 (0.49%) for plasmaphereses. Our donor vigilance data of a blood transfusion service show that whole blood and plasmapheresis are safe with low incidences of adverse events. Repeat donation and age are predictors for low rates of adverse events. On the other hand, first time donation and female gender were associated with higher incidences of adverse events. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Assessing ABO/Rh Blood Group Frequency and Association with Asymptomatic Malaria among Blood Donors Attending Arba Minch Blood Bank, South Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Getaneh Alemu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Determination of the various ABO/Rh blood group distributions and their association with malaria infection has paramount importance in the context of transfusion medicine and malaria control. Methods. Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June, 2015, to assess ABO/Rh blood groups distribution and their association with asymptomatic malaria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Blood grouping was done using monoclonal antibodies. Thin and thick blood films were examined for Plasmodium parasites. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results. A total of 416 blood donors participated with median age of 22±0.29 (median ± standard error of the mean. Distribution of ABO phenotypes, in decreasing order, was O (175, 42.1%, A (136, 32.7%, B (87, 20.9%, and AB (18, 4.3%. Most of them were Rh+ (386, 92.8%. The overall malaria prevalence was 4.1% (17/416. ABO blood group is significantly associated with malaria infection (P=0.022. High rate of parasitemia was seen in blood group O donors (6.899, P=0.003 compared to those with other ABO blood groups. Conclusion. Blood groups O and AB phenotypes are the most and the least ABO blood groups, respectively. There is significant association between ABO blood group and asymptomatic malaria parasitemia.

  9. Readability, complexity, and suitability analysis of online lymphedema resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Bao Ngoc N; Singh, Mansher; Lee, Bernard T; Rudd, Rima; Singhal, Dhruv

    2017-06-01

    Over 72% of Americans use online health information to assist in health care decision-making. Previous studies of lymphedema literature have focused only on reading level of patient-oriented materials online. Findings indicate they are too advanced for most patients to comprehend. This, more comprehensive study, expands the previous analysis to include critical elements of health materials beyond readability using assessment tools to report on the complexity and density of data as well as text design, vocabulary, and organization. The top 10 highest ranked websites on lymphedema were identified using the most popular search engine (Google). Website content was analyzed for readability, complexity, and suitability using Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, PMOSE/iKIRSCH, and Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), respectively. PMOSE/iKIRSCH and SAM were performed by two independent raters. Fleiss' kappa score was calculated to ensure inter-rater reliability. Online lymphedema literature had a reading grade level of 14.0 (SMOG). Overall complexity score was 6.7 (PMOSE/iKIRSCH) corresponding to "low" complexity and requiring a 8th-12th grade education. Fleiss' kappa score was 80% (P = 0.04, "substantial" agreement). Overall suitability score was 45% (SAM) correlating to the lowest level of "adequate" suitability. Fleiss' kappa score was 76% (P = 0.06, "substantial" agreement). Online resources for lymphedema are above the recommended levels for readability and complexity. The suitability level is barely adequate for the intended audience. Overall, these materials are too sophisticated for the average American adult, whose literacy skills are well documented. Further efforts to revise these materials are needed to improve patient comprehension and understanding. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Contrasting roles of donor and recipient TGFB1 and IFNG gene polymorphic variants in chronic kidney transplant rejection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coelho, Verônica Porto Carreiro de Vasconcellos; Ioschpe, Rafael; Caldas, Cristina; Spadafora-Ferreira, Monica; Fonseca, João Americo; Cardoso, Maria Regina Alves; Palacios, Selma Aliotti; Kalil, Jorge; Goldberg, Anna Carla

    2011-03-01

    To assess the long-term impact (minimum of 3 years follow-up) of polymorphisms in cytokine genes in donor:recipient pairs on the results of the transplant. We compared genetic cytokine polymorphisms and the primary factors of risk for the development of chronic rejection in paired groups of renal transplant patients with and without chronic allograft nephropathy [CAN]. Multivariate analysis indicated that the presence of the high-production TT genotype (codon 10) of the transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFB1) was protective in receptors (p=0.017), contrasting with the increased risk when present in donor samples (p=0.049). On the other hand, in the case of the gamma interferon studied, the greater frequency of the high production allele was protective in the analysis of the donor group (p=0.013), increasing the risk of chronic nephropathy of the allograft when present in the recipients (p=0.036). Our results highlight the importance of TGFB1 genotyping in donors, and indicate that polymorphisms in the gene of this cytokine in donor cells might contribute to the development of chronic allograft nephropathy.

  11. Donor Smoking and Older Age Increases Morbidity and Mortality After Lung Transplantation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz, H H; Møller, C H; Zemtsovski, M

    2017-01-01

    survival as well as CLAD-free survival was significantly lower with donors ≥55 years. CONCLUSIONS: Donor smoking history and older donor age impact lung function, mortality, and CLAD-free survival after transplantation. Because of a shortage of organs, extended donor criteria may be considered while taking......BACKGROUND: The lack of lung transplant donors has necessitated the use of donors with a smoking history and donors of older age. We have evaluated the effects of donor smoking history and age on recipient morbidity and mortality with baseline values of pulmonary function and survival free...... of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) as morbidity variables. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 588 consecutive lung transplant recipients and their corresponding 454 donors. Donors were divided into three groups: group 1 included smokers, group 2 nonsmokers, and group 3 had unknown smoking...

  12. The evaluation of blood donor deferral causes in Zimbabwe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mafirakureva, N.; Khoza, S.; Van Hulst, M.; Postma, M.J.; Mvere, D.A.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Donor selection is one of the first steps in blood donation aimed at improving the safety of blood and blood products. It is the only line of protection for donors and against certain infections for which testing is not performed. There is paucity of published data on reasons for donor

  13. Clinical effects of blood donor characteristics in transfusion recipients: protocol of a framework to study the blood donor-recipient continuum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chassé, Michaël; McIntyre, Lauralyn; Tinmouth, Alan; Acker, Jason; English, Shane W; Knoll, Greg; Forster, Alan; Shehata, Nadine; Wilson, Kumanan; van Walraven, Carl; Ducharme, Robin; Fergusson, Dean A

    2015-01-19

    When used appropriately, transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) is a necessary life-saving therapy. However, RBC transfusions have been associated with negative outcomes such as infection and organ damage. Seeking explanations for the beneficial and deleterious effects of RBC transfusions is necessary to ensure the safe and optimal use of this precious resource. This study will create a framework to analyse the influence of blood donor characteristics on recipient outcomes. We will conduct a multisite, longitudinal cohort study using blood donor data routinely collected by Canadian Blood Services, and recipient data from health administrative databases. Our project will include a thorough validation of primary data, the linkage of various databases into one large longitudinal database, an in-depth epidemiological analysis and a careful interpretation and dissemination of the results to assist the decision-making process of clinicians, researchers and policymakers in transfusion medicine. Our primary donor characteristic will be age of blood donors and our secondary donor characteristics will be donor-recipient blood group compatibility and blood donor sex. Our primary recipient outcome will be a statistically appropriate survival analysis post-RBC transfusion up to a maximum of 8 years. Our secondary recipient outcomes will include 1-year, 2-year and 5-year mortality; hospital and intensive care unit length of stay; rehospitalisation; new cancer and cancer recurrence rate; infection rate; new occurrence of myocardial infarctions and need for haemodialysis. Our results will help determine whether we need to tailor transfusion based on donor characteristics, and perhaps this will improve patient outcome. Our results will be customised to target the different stakeholders involved with blood transfusions and will include presentations, peer-reviewed publications and the use of the dissemination network of blood supply organisations. We obtained approval from the

  14. Reducing replacement donors in Sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and affordability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bates, I; Manyasi, G; Medina Lara, A

    2007-12-01

    In 1975, the World Health Assembly recommended that blood for transfusion should come from voluntary, non-remunerated donors; yet, in Africa, 75-80% of blood for transfusion still comes from hospital-based replacement donors. Although comprehensive economic data are scarce, evidence indicates that blood from voluntary donors recruited and screened at centralized transfusion centres, costs four to eight times as much as blood from a hospital-based, replacement donor system. Donor recruitment, quality assurance systems and distribution mechanisms in the centralized system are major reasons for the cost difference. There are concerns about the sustainability of centralized voluntary donor systems and their compatibility with the levels of health care that exist in many poor countries yet burdening patients' families with the responsibility of finding replacement blood donors will exacerbate poverty and reduce the safety of the blood supply. There are measures that can be introduced into hospital-based systems to improve safe blood supply in Africa but their effectiveness in different contexts needs to be evaluated.

  15. Unconfirmed reactive screening tests and their impact on donor management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, M.; Khan, S.A.

    2008-01-01

    To determine the percentage of false positive testing for transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) using immunochromatographic test (ICT) as first line of screening tests and its effect on loss of volunteer blood donors. Over a period of three months, samples from blood bags of donors undergoing phlebotomy at teaching hospital blood banks in Lahore were screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) by immunochromatographic tests. Those found positive on initial screening were re-tested by ELISA method at the screening laboratory of the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion Service, Punjab. Lahore. Out of a total of 62090 voluntary blood donors, 469 donors were found to be initially reactive for either HIV, HBV or HCV. Amongst these 96 (0.15%) blood donors were found to have tested falsely positive for HIV, HBV or HCV as compared to testing by ELISA. False positive testing rate of 0.15% or 96 out of a total of 62090 donors is rather small in terms of loss of voluntary donors and appropriate utilization of available resources. Although immunochromatographic testing is not the gold standard, however it serves an important purpose of initial donor screening. (author)

  16. Uniaxially oriented polycrystalline thin films and air-stable n-type transistors based on donor-acceptor semiconductor (diC8BTBT)(FnTCNQ) [n = 0, 2, 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Yosei; Tsutsumi, Jun'ya; Matsuoka, Satoshi; Matsubara, Koji; Yoshida, Yuji; Chikamatsu, Masayuki; Hasegawa, Tatsuo

    2015-04-01

    We report the fabrication of high quality thin films for semiconducting organic donor-acceptor charge-transfer (CT) compounds, (diC8BTBT)(FnTCNQ) (diC8BTBT = 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene and FnTCNQ [n = 0,2,4] = fluorinated derivatives of 7,7,8,8,-tetracyanoquinodimethane), which have a high degree of layered crystallinity. Single-phase and uniaxially oriented polycrystalline thin films of the compounds were obtained by co-evaporation of the component donor and acceptor molecules. Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) fabricated with the compound films exhibited n-type field-effect characteristics, showing a mobility of 6.9 × 10-2 cm2/V s, an on/off ratio of 106, a sub-threshold swing of 0.8 V/dec, and an excellent stability in air. We discuss the suitability of strong intermolecular donor-acceptor interaction and the narrow CT gap nature in compounds for stable n-type OTFT operation.

  17. BLOOD DONORS CAMPAIGN

    CERN Document Server

    Medical Service

    2002-01-01

    Tuesday 19 March 2002 in restaurant nr 2, from 9.00 to 16.30 hrs A blood donors campaign, organized by the Centre de Transfusion sanguine of Geneva If you already have a card giving your blood group, please bring this with you.

  18. Identifying potential kidney donors using social networking web sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Alexander; Anderson, Emily E; Turner, Hang T; Shoham, David; Hou, Susan H; Grams, Morgan

    2013-01-01

    Social networking sites like Facebook may be a powerful tool for increasing rates of live kidney donation. They allow for wide dissemination of information and discussion and could lessen anxiety associated with a face-to-face request for donation. However, sparse data exist on the use of social media for this purpose. We searched Facebook, the most popular social networking site, for publicly available English-language pages seeking kidney donors for a specific individual, abstracting information on the potential recipient, characteristics of the page itself, and whether potential donors were tested. In the 91 pages meeting inclusion criteria, the mean age of potential recipients was 37 (range: 2-69); 88% were US residents. Other posted information included the individual's photograph (76%), blood type (64%), cause of kidney disease (43%), and location (71%). Thirty-two percent of pages reported having potential donors tested, and 10% reported receiving a live-donor kidney transplant. Those reporting donor testing shared more potential recipient characteristics, provided more information about transplantation, and had higher page traffic. Facebook is already being used to identify potential kidney donors. Future studies should focus on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use social networking sites to inform potential donors and potentially expand live kidney donation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  19. SUITABILITY OF CORNEAL TISSUE FOR TRANSPLANTATION PROCURED FROM HANGING CASES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rekha Gyanchand

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Requirement of donor cornea is essential to target the corneal blind. The best method to procure such corneas is from any major hospitals, which has a mortuary facility. The eye donation with hanging as the cause of death is very common in a mortuary setup. Some factors that are concerning regarding corneas procured from death due to hanging is the prolonged exposure of the cornea at the time of death, the exact time of death is not known, most of the cadavers are refrigerated for investigations as these arrive at the mortuary usually at night. Due to these reasons, the corneal surgeons are hesitant to use corneas procured from death due to hanging for corneal transplantation. Analysing these corneas would contribute to a great extent to the donor cornea pool in providing sight to the corneal blind, especially as majority are young individuals who commit suicide by hanging. In this study, the donor corneas were analysed with regards to corneal epithelial defect, endothelial cell morphology and utilisation of these corneas for transplantation. The aim of the HCRP study is to analyse the effect of death due to hanging on donor cornea. 1. Corneal epithelial status. 2. Corneal endothelial cell morphology. 3. Utilisation of corneas for transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Donor corneas from 22 donors who died due to hanging were procured from hospital mortuary. All the 44 corneas were transplanted. Various parameters like demography, death to enucleation time, cadaver preservation in cold storage, endothelial cell density and utilisation of cornea for transplantation were noted. Design- Retrospective study. Statistical Analysis- Descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman correlation and Chi-square test were used to test the hypotheses. RESULTS Out of the 44 corneas analysed, 75% of the donors were refrigerated as a part of medicolegal investigations protocol. The average DTP time was 12 hours in refrigerated group and 5 hours in non

  20. Predictors of hemoglobin in Danish blood donors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kotzé, Sebastian R; Pedersen, Ole B; Petersen, Mikkel S

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: It is well known that blood donors are at increased risk of iron deficiency and subsequent development of iron deficiency anemia. We aimed to investigate the effect of factors influencing hemoglobin (Hb) levels. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Initiated in 2010, the Danish Blood Donor Study...