Many Heart Donations Are Rejected: Study Examines Geographical Locations Of Donor Acceptance

Statistics show that every year alone, more than 20,000 patients in the United States are in need of a heart transplant. Though donors can help provide life-saving organs for potential recipients around the world, numerous factors also come into play that may interfere with the organ's shelf-life following removal.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine now believe that rejection of donor hearts varied significantly across geographical regions. Are some medical officials being a little too stingy when it comes to this organ?

"The inconsistency says that there are higher-risk donor hearts being accepted in some regions, and we know from the data that those recipients are doing well, so if we can safely lower the bar for acceptance, we could increase the number of donor hearts for our patients," Kiran Khush, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, said via Bloomberg Business. 

Researchers found that donor heart utilization fell to 32 percent in 2010 from 44 percent in 1995, according to findings published in the American Journal of Transplantation. Furthermore, the acceptance rate rebounded further from a low 29 percent in 2006.

Thousands are in need of a heart transplant that could save their lives. And those suffering from coronary heart disease, a viral heart infection or damaged heart muscles or valves, may still be in need based on their residence.

The findings revealed how states in the New England area of the country reported higher acceptance rates than those in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast.

Certain reasons may explain why some donor hearts are discarded, including small size, age and donor co-morbidities.

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