Potential availability of transplantable organs according to factors associated with type of injury event.

Potential availability of transplantable organs from different types of injury fatalities was studied. Factors examined included target organ damage or disease, age of potential donor, duration of survival before circulatory arrest, and universal rejection factors such as sepsis, HIV infection, or systemic malignancy. Motor vehicle fatalities yielded the greatest proportion of potentially viable organs. Delay in discovery and universal rejection factors were important exclusionary issues for fatalities from suicide, homicide, and non-motor vehicle unintentional injury. There was no difference in organ damage or in duration of survival with higher speeds in fatal crashes, suggesting that states with 65 mph speed limits--and consequently higher death rates--may have greater potential availability of donatable organs than do those with 55 mph maximum. The increase in deaths at higher speeds, however, vastly outweighs the benefits of any possible increase in the potential for donor organs.