Donation Patterns in Four European Countries : Data From the Donor Action Database

To analyze heart-beating organ donation patterns in four countries using the Donor Action (DA) Program nationally and to identify areas for improvement. Medical Record Review (MRR) of 18,118 critical care deaths between January 2006 and December 2007 in Belgium, Finland, France, and Switzerland. Data were entered to the DA System Database for analysis. Of 6561 patients without contraindications to donation, 45.3% met preconditions for brain death (BD) diagnosis, 31.4% had signs of severe brain damage and 28.8% met criteria for formal BD diagnosis. Belgium had the highest number of patients with formal BD diagnosis (75.7%) and Switzerland (57.4%, P