Improve Deceased Donor Evaluation for Endemic Diseases

At a glance

Current policy

Organ Procurement Organizations must test all deceased donors for certain infectious diseases. This is important for patient safety, as it helps protect transplant recipients from disease transmissions. Strongyloides and Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) are two of the most common parasitic infections reviewed by the Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC). The DTAC proposes requiring antibody screening for Strongyloides for all deceased donors and T. cruzi antibody screening of deceased donors born in areas where Chagas disease regularly occurs.

Supporting media

Presentation

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Proposed changes

Screen all deceased donors for Strongyloides
Screen deceased donors born in countries where Chagas disease regularly occurs for T. cruzi
If a screening test is positive for T. cruzi, additional testing would be done within 72 hours to confirm the results

Anticipated impact

What it’s expected to do
- Improve transplant recipient safety through infectious disease testing to reduce disease transmission
- Increase awareness and communications for potential endemic diseases across regions
What it won't do
- Will not completely prevent T. cruzi or Strongyloides disease transmissions

Terms to know

Endemic Diseases: A disease that regularly occurs in a particular population or region.
Deceased Donor: An individual from whom at least one organ is recovered for the purpose of transplantation after declaration of death.
Organ Procurement Organization (OPO): An organization designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that is responsible for the procurement of organs for transplantation and the promotion of organ donation. OPOs serve as the vital link between the donor and recipient and are responsible for the identification of donors, and the retrieval, preservation, and transportation of organs for transplantation.
Trypanosoma cruzi: The parasite that causes Chagas disease.
Strongyloides: A human pathogenic parasitic roundworm causing the disease strongyloidiasis, also known as threadworm.