Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42606808›Full record

ArticleClinical transplantation2026

Increases in Organ Donation in Donor Hospitals Changing Organ Procurement Organization Affiliations.

Isabella Sharifi, Erin Tewksbury, Matthew Wadsworth, David S Goldberg

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical transplantation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Isabella SharifiUniversity of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.
Erin TewksburyLife Connection of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Matthew WadsworthLife Connection of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
David S GoldbergDivision of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionHospitals in the United States are assigned to a designated organ procurement organization (OPO) responsible for managing deceased donors in the designated donation service area (DSA). Hospitals can apply for waivers to work with a different OPO with appropriate justification. We sought to evaluate the impact of hospital waivers on organ donation activity.

methodsWe evaluated Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) data from two OPOs (Donor Network West and Honor Bridge), each with a hospital (Renown Regional Medical Center and North Carolina Baptist Hospital) in its DSA granted a waiver to work with a different OPO beginning in April 2025. We assessed changes in the number of organ donors and organs transplanted pre- and post-granting of a waiver using a difference-in-differences approach based on multilevel mixed-effects models.

resultsAfter switching OPO affiliations, mean monthly donors at intervention hospitals increased from 5.6 pre-waiver to 7.9 post-waiver, while control hospitals remained stable (56.6 vs. 57.5 donors/month). Mean monthly organs transplanted increased from 16.5 to 24.9 at intervention hospitals, while control hospitals were unchanged (170.9 vs. 169.3 organs/month). The difference-in-differences interaction term was statistically significant for both donors recovered (p < 0.1) and organs transplanted (p < 0.1). Reported deaths were stable in both groups.

conclusionWith eight months of post-waiver data, hospitals with granted waivers had significant increases in donation activity driven by improved donor conversion rather than changes in referral patterns or organ yield per donor. Although longer-term data are needed to confirm these findings, CMS and the organ transplant community should feel confident that changing donor hospital-OPO affiliations will not negatively impact donation and may lead to significant increases in donation.

Indexed as

HospitalsOrgan TransplantationTissue and Organ ProcurementTissue DonorsFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisUnited States

Identifiers

PMID42606808
PMCPMC13480347

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.