Humans ; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation ; Colitis, Ulcerative/therapy* ; Donor Selection ; Feces ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a life-saving therapy for patients with terminal liver disease. Many studies have focused on recipients rather than donors. The aim of this study was to assess the emotional status and personality characteristics of LDLT donors. METHODS: We evaluated 218 subjects (126 male, 92 female) who visited Daegu Catholic University Medical Center from August 2012 to July 2018. A retrospective review of their preoperative psychological evaluation was done. We investigated epidemiological data and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 questionnaire. Subanalysis was done depending on whether subjects actually underwent surgery, relationship with the recipient, and their gender. RESULTS: Mean age of subjects was 32.19±10.91 years. 187 subjects received LDLT surgery (actual donors) while 31 subjects didn't (potential donors). Donor-recipient relationship included husband-wife, parent-children, brother-sister etc. Subjects had statistical significance on validity scale L, F, K and all clinical scales compared to the control group. Potential donors had significant difference in F(b), F(p), K, S, Pa, AGGR, PSYC, DISC and NEGE scales compared to actual donors. F, D and NEGE scales were found to be predictive for actual donation. Subanalysis on donor-recipient relationship and gender also showed significant difference in certain scales. CONCLUSIONS: Under-reporting of psychological problems should be considered when evaluating living-liver donors. Information about the donor's overall psychosocial background, mental status and donation process should also be acquired.
Academic Medical Centers ; Daegu ; Donor Selection ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver ; Living Donors ; Male ; Minnesota ; MMPI ; Retrospective Studies ; Tissue Donors ; Weights and Measures

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donors for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have long been scarce in China. Haploidentical (haplo) donors are available for the vast majority of patients, but toxicity has limited this approach. Three new approaches for haplo-HSCT originated from Italy, China, and USA in 1990 and have been developed to world-renowned system up to now. The Chinese approach have been greatly improved by implementing new individualized conditioning regimens, donor selection based on non-HLA systems, risk-directed strategies for graft-versus-host disease and relapse, and infection management. Haplo-HSCT has exhibited similar efficacy to HLA-matched HSCT and has gradually become the predominant donor source and the first alternative donor choice for allo-HSCT in China. Registry-based analyses and multicenter studies adhering to international standards facilitated the transformation of the unique Chinese experience into an inspiration for the refinement of global practice. This review will focus on how the new era in which "everyone has a donor" will become a reality in China.
China ; Donor Selection ; Graft vs Host Disease ; immunology ; HLA Antigens ; immunology ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; immunology ; surgery ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Histocompatibility ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Transplantation Conditioning

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has recently improved. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology, changes in treatment strategies, and improvement of outcomes in Gwangju-Chonnam children with AML over 2 decades. METHODS: Medical records of 116 children with newly diagnosed AML were retrospectively reviewed for demographic characteristics, prognostic groups including cytogenetic risks, treatment protocols, and survival rates over the periods between 1996 and 2005 (Period I, N=53), and 2006 and 2015 (Period II, N=38). RESULTS: The annual incidence of AML has decreased with reduced pediatric population. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier (K-M) estimated overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rates in 110 AML patients were 53.2±5.1% and 43.8±5.1%, respectively. The 5-year OS rate significantly improved during period II (70.3±7.0%) as compared to that during period I (40.0±6.8%) (P =0.001). The 5-year OS was not significantly different among cytogenetic risk groups (P =0.11). Fifty-eight patients underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The K-M 5-year estimated survival for transplanted patients was 53.7±7.0%, while that for chemotherapy-only patients was 30.1±9.1% (P =0.014). Among the prognostic factors, treatment modality was the only independent factor. The chemotherapy-only group had a relative risk of 2.06 for death compared with the transplantation group (P=0.015). CONCLUSION: The survival of Korean children with AML has improved to a level comparable with that of developed countries over 2 decades, owing to a change in induction strategy, better supportive care with economic growth, refinement of HSCT techniques including a better selection of patients based on prognostic groups, and stem cell donor selection.
Child* ; Clinical Protocols ; Cytogenetics ; Developed Countries ; Disease-Free Survival ; Donor Selection ; Economic Development ; Epidemiology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Medical Records ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stem Cells ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome*

PURPOSE: Liver volumetry is a vital component in living donor liver transplantation to determine an adequate graft volume that meets the metabolic demands of the recipient and at the same time ensures donor safety. Most institutions use preoperative contrast-enhanced CT image-based software programs to estimate graft volume. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 2 liver volumetry programs (Rapidia vs. Dr. Liver) in preoperative right liver graft estimation compared with real graft weight. METHODS: Data from 215 consecutive right lobe living donors between October 2013 and August 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. One hundred seven patients were enrolled in Rapidia group and 108 patients were included in the Dr. Liver group. Estimated graft volumes generated by both software programs were compared with real graft weight measured during surgery, and further classified into minimal difference (≤15%) and big difference (>15%). Correlation coefficients and degree of difference were determined. Linear regressions were calculated and results depicted as scatterplots. RESULTS: Minimal difference was observed in 69.4% of cases from Dr. Liver group and big difference was seen in 44.9% of cases from Rapidia group (P = 0.035). Linear regression analysis showed positive correlation in both groups (P < 0.01). However, the correlation coefficient was better for the Dr. Liver group (R² = 0.719), than for the Rapidia group (R² = 0.688). CONCLUSION: Dr. Liver can accurately predict right liver graft size better and faster than Rapidia, and can facilitate preoperative planning in living donor liver transplantation.
Donor Selection ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Living Donors ; Organ Size ; Retrospective Studies ; Tissue Donors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Transfusion transmissible emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) is a potential risk to the safety of blood transfusions due to the lack of donor screening assays. To prevent the spread of EIDs through blood transfusions, we attempted to predict the possibility of blood donations from people with EIDs using a public database. METHODS: We used the Disease Web Statistics System of the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Korean Statistical Information Service. We estimated the possibility of blood donations from people with EIDs using the public database combined with the database made available by the Blood Information Management System of the Korean Red Cross. RESULTS: Among the transfusion transmissible EIDs, Babesiosis, Leishmaniasis, West Nile fever, Chikungunya, and Dengue fever were reported in Korea. All of them were cases imported from abroad. Although the number of reported cases of Babesiosis, Leishmaniasis, West Nile fever, and Chikungunya were less than 10 per year until 2016, the reported cases of Dengue fever gradually increased from 2001, and there were 318 cases of Dengue fever in 2016. CONCLUSION: The possibility of blood donation from people with transfusion-transmissible EIDs was low because all reported transfusion-transmissible EIDs in Korea were from foreigners and blood donation from Koreans who returned from abroad was restricted for a period of a month. Nonetheless, preventive strategy for donation from people is necessary given the recent increase in Dengue fever.
Animals ; Babesiosis ; Blood Donors* ; Blood Transfusion ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Communicable Diseases, Emerging* ; Dengue ; Disease Outbreaks* ; Donor Selection ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Humans ; Information Management ; Information Services ; Korea ; Leishmaniasis ; Red Cross ; West Nile Fever

The Korean government previously established a national blood policy and national blood system based on basic and essential legislation. This achievement was the result of collaborative efforts between the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion, the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine, the Laboratory Medicine Foundation, and/or the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service. To ensure a safe and effective transfusion, a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) system to assess every process from donor selection to transfusion is mandatory. From a blood safety perspective, selection of appropriate donor blood screening tests for transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI) and the QA program is of great importance. In this article, we review legislation regarding the national blood policy and national blood system as well as the selection logic regarding diagnostic immunologic tests for TTI and quality assurance efforts for TTI of each blood center.
Blood Safety ; Blood Transfusion ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Donor Selection ; Humans ; Immunologic Tests* ; Logic ; Mass Screening* ; Quality Control ; Tissue Donors

There has been continuous effort to prevent transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI). Strategies to prevent TTI can be divided into two components: first, determining donor eligibility, and second, managing bacterial contamination of blood products. To determine donor eligibility, medical history taking and screening tests for infectious diseases should be performed. To prevent bacterial contamination, blood collection process should be aseptic, tests for bacterial detection should be performed, and an application of pathogen reduction technology should also be considered. In this review, screening test items and methods, including nucleic acid amplification tests for determining donor eligibility, and precautions for blood collection, bacterial detection methods, and pathogen reduction technology for the prevention of bacterial contamination of blood products were discussed in detail.
Communicable Diseases ; Donor Selection ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Medical History Taking ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; Tissue Donors

Transplantation studies about the clinical differences according to the type of donors are mostly conducted in western countries with rare reports from Asians. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical impacts of the type of donor, and the predictors of 1-year mortality in patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT). This study was performed for liver transplant recipients between May 2010 and December 2014 at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital. A total of 185 recipients who underwent LT were analyzed. Of the 185 recipients, 109 (58.9%) belonged to the living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) group. The median age was 52.4 years. LDLT recipients had lower model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score compared with better liver function than deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) recipients (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 12.5 ± 8.3 vs. 24.9 ± 11.7, respectively; P < 0.001), and had more advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (62.4% vs. 21.1%, respectively; P = 0.001). In complications and clinical outcomes, LDLT recipients showed shorter stay in intensive care unit (ICU) (mean ± SD, 10.8 ± 8.8 vs. 23.0 ± 13.8 days, respectively, P < 0.001), ventilator care days, and post-operative admission days, and lower 1-year mortality (11% vs. 27.6%, respectively, P = 0.004). Bleeding and infectious complications were less in LDLT recipients. Recipients with DDLT (P = 0.004) showed higher mortality in univariate analysis, and multi-logistic regression analysis found higher MELD score and higher pre-operative serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were associated with 1-year mortality. This study may guide improved management before and after LT from donor selection to post-operation follow up.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Busan ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Donor Selection ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Living Donors ; Mortality* ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Tissue Donors* ; Transplant Recipients ; Ventilators, Mechanical

BACKGROUND: A number of alternative donor options exist for patients who fail to find domestic HLA-matched donors for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We assessed physicians' perspectives on allo-HSCT donor selection when a matched domestic donor is not available. METHODS: We administered a questionnaire survey to 55 hematologists (response rate: 28%) who attended the annual spring conference of the Korean Society of Haematology in 2015. The questionnaire contained four clinical allo-HSCT scenarios and the respondents were asked to choose the most preferred donor among the given options. RESULTS: In all four scenarios, the hematologists preferred a matched international donor over partially mismatched unrelated domestic or haplo-matched family donors. The numbers of hematologists who chose a matched international donor (HLA 8/8) in cases of acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and aplastic anemia were 37 (67.3%), 41 (74.6%), 33 (60.0%), and 36 (65.5%), respectively. The important factors that affected donor selection included “expecting better clinical outcomes (40.5%)” and “lower risk of side effects (23.4%).” The majority of participants (80%) responded that allo-HSCT guidelines for donor selection customized for the Korean setting are necessary. CONCLUSION: Although hematologists still prefer perfectly matched foreign donors when a fully matched domestic allo-HSCT donor is not available, we confirmed that there was variation in their responses. For evidence-based clinical practice, it is necessary to provide further comparative clinical evidence on allo-HSCT from haplo-matched family donors and fully matched unrelated international donors.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Donor Selection* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tissue Donors* ; Unrelated Donors