Plan to Boost Transplants of Organs Hailed

WASHINGTON — Gravely sick people whose hearts have stopped but whose brains are alive could help solve the shortage of transplant organs, but rigid protective standards are needed, medical experts advised the government Thursday.

“If the estimates are accurate, non-heart-beating donors could represent an increase of at least 1,000 organ donors each year,” said Dr. John Potts, director of research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “To ensure that these patients receive proper care, however, it is critical that all transplant organizations adopt a consistent approach that respects the wishes of patients and families.”

Potts led a study presented by the Institute of Medicine to the Health and Human Service Department, which requested the research earlier this year.

People whose hearts have stopped--most often because of a traumatic injury from a car accident, homicide or suicide--but whose brains can be kept working by life-support equipment, account for only about 1% of all organ donors.

To be successful, organ recovery from such patients must take place quickly, and the opportunity is easily lost if family members can’t be reached for consent.

Organ recovery from patients who are brain-dead is far more common, because their beating hearts can continue to preserve other organs indefinitely while complicated emotional and ethical decisions are made.

But with more than 50,000 sick Americans on waiting lists for organ transplants--more than 4,000 of whom died still waiting last year--federally supervised organ procurement organizations have become increasingly aggressive about pursuing those whose hearts have stopped.

On Monday, the Clinton administration proposed to increase the number of organ transplants by ordering hospitals to cooperate with donor organizations.