Organ Donation after Open Abdominal Management with Negative-Pressure Dressing: A Case Report

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The shortage of organ donors is a major challenge in transplantation. Expanding donor eligibility criteria can help increase the donor pool, but it is crucial to carefully assess the risks related to infections in donors with expanded criteria. Organ donation from trauma patients who have undergone open abdominal management (OAM) is uncommon because of concerns regarding organ damage and infection risk. However, with appropriate OAM and stringent infection control, safe organ donation may be possible.

CASE PRESENTATION: We herein present a case involving a patient who sustained abdominal organ injuries and head trauma from a fall. Emergency laparotomy was performed, including splenectomy for a splenic injury and liver laceration repair, followed by OAM using ABTHERA (3M Health Care, St. Paul, MN, USA). The patient subsequently developed irreversible brain damage and was declared brain dead. The patient’s family consented to organ donation. Following thorough evaluation, the heart, lungs, and liver were successfully recovered and transplanted into recipients at three different institutions, with no severe infections or rejection episodes reported.

CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates that with proper management using ABTHERA in OAM, organ donation can be safely achieved even in challenging cases involving trauma patients.