Approximately 91000 patients with end-stage organ failure are on the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network waiting list for organ transplantation.1 Despite a 10.8% increase in the number of deceased organ donors from 2003 to 2004, the organ supply continues to fall far short of the demand; each year since 1999 more than 6000 patients have died while on the waiting list.2
The number of organs transplanted per donor is an important metric that reflects the overall success of the staff members of the donor hospital, the transplant program, and the organ procurement organization (OPO) working in concert to maximize transplantation. Several efforts to increase the number of organs transplanted per donor are under way, including a major initiative sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services known as the Organ Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative, which brings together expertise from OPOs, transplant programs, and the critical care...