Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Organ Donation and Transplantation Activities in Iran

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a great impact on reducing organ transplantation activities.

The aim of this study was to determine the donation and transplantation activities before and after COVID-19 outbreak in Iran.

This retrospective study compared the donation and transplantation activities in two specific 9-month periods (Average period of March - Dec 2018-2019 Vs. March - Dec 2020). The questionnaire included the numbers of brain death confirmations, family consents, organ recoveries, and transplanted solid organs. The questionnaire was sent by email to the chief executive of the organ procurement unit.

A total of 15 organ procurement units responded to the survey. The largest reduction was seen in tissue transplantations (62.5%) during two time intervals. Brain death due to head trauma significantly decreased in two time intervals and suicide increased by 14.44% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2018-2019 period. Significant reductions between the median of donation (P = 0.0187), median of potential donor (P = 0.005), median of family consent (P = 0.002), and median of eligible donor (P = 0.009) were observed during the two time periods.

A significant reduction was observed in organ donation and transplantation during COVID-19 pandemic. Developing protocols and establishing new strategies for evaluation of organ donation to ensure the safety of organ recipients and medical staff is necessary.