Overview:

This webinar will cover the issue on how to minimize the risks of transmission of neurological, inherited disease or other rare diseases. They may exist in donors and we can procure and transplant organs in some cases. Unfortunately the evidence is limited – a few case reports exist, some considerations are published and the final question is left to the physician in charge on how to proceed on the thin line between disease transmission to the recipient and organ wastage on the other side due to incorrect exclusion of the donor. We will discuss a few strategies on how to solve this problem based on real cases.

Biography:

After finishing a specialisation for Transfusion-medicine at the University of Tübingen (medical studies at University of Freiburg – doctor thesis in 1987), for almost 25 years now Dr. Fischer-Fröhlich has been working as Coordinator in the DSO-region of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. His first contact with the field organ donation was when he worked at an Intensive care unit in 1980. He then was coordinator at the Transplantation Unit of the University of Tübingen with kidney, liver, pancreas and heart program as well as leading the organ donation program in an area with 50 hospitals. In 2001 the German system was changed and he joined the DSO-central office for Baden-Württemberg caring for organ donation in the federal state covering about 130 hospitals.

Within the DSO Dr. Fischer-Fröhlich is responsible for improving the safety issues of recipients in organ donation under the patronage of my regional medical director PD dr. Christina Schleicher; the former Medical Director, Prof. Günter Kirste; and current Medical Director, Dr. Axel Rahmel. For the past few years they worked within the DSO on a project for evaluating the relevance, risks, importance and influence of expanded donor criteria. From those studies it was concluded that after proper donor identification and donor management, most of the assumed expanded donor criteria becomes non-critical when the appropriate recipient is selected after risk-benefit assessment. Still, the thin line between possible and impossible concerning realization of donation in case of medical obstacles is very narrow, especially when considering the topics of this webinar. The other large, long-term project is the guide to quality and safety of organs for transplantation issued by the Council of Europe, where Dr. Fischer-Fröhlich contributes to standards in organ donation together with experts from all over the world.