A study of the physiology of circulatory death
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of the physiological changes of circulatory-determined death with respect to organ donation and transplantation
IRAS ID
179481
Contact name
Poppy Aldam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
R+D Manager, Cambridge University Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
40% of organ donors in the UK donate following circulatory death. This involves cessation of life supporting treatment following which the circulation becomes progressively unstable, breathing stops, and circulatory arrest occurs. Such donors are then taken to the operating theatre where the organs are flushed with cold preservation solution and recovered for subsequent transplantation. The function of those organs is not as good as from living donors or deceased donors who have been verified as dead by neurological criteria. The reason for suboptimal function is not clear, but in part it is thought to relate to the physiological changes around the time of death. However tis physiology has not been studied in a systematic way.
This study aims to examine the physiology of circulatory death and to correlate that physiology with the outcomes of transplantation of the organs in an effort to identify factors associated with an adverse outcomes, and to identify opportunities for intervention to improve transplant outcomes.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0179
Date of REC Opinion
9 May 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion