Issuing Donor Cards in a Single Center in Iran: Results of the First 3 Years

IntroductionIssuing an organ donation card has become a goal for procurement units to solve the organ shortage. The number of issued cards is an index of the attitudes or even actions of communities toward brain-dead donations. In the present study, we have reported the characteristics of issuing organ donation cards in a single organ procurement unit in Iran.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study used an organ donation willingness database for 3 years after launching the unit. We used the registration data of the first 3 years of its activity from August 1, 2005, to July 31, 2008. For each organ donation volunteer, we extracted demographic data, organs to be donated, and source of their knowledge about the organ donation card system.ResultsDuring the study period, donor cards were issued to 172,290 volunteers; a monthly mean of 4785 registries. Among the total volunteers, 54.2% were females: with 50.7% between 21 to 30 years, 35.2% with an educational level less than a high school diploma, and 35.7% introduced by their friends. The volunteers were more willing to donate heart, kidney, liver, lung, and tissue donations, respectively. Out of the total number of volunteers, 94.1% were willing to donate all organs. An increasing trend was seen in the donation cards issued during the study period.ConclusionFollowing 3 years of activity, a single center has issued nearly 200,000 cards. The rate at which organ donor cards are issued is increasing, which puts emphasis on establishment of funding for other organ procurement units. This information may be useful to program the field of brain-dead donations in this country.