PROviding Better ACcess To ORgans: A comprehensive overview of organ‐access initiatives from the ASTS PROACTOR Task Force

The American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) PROviding better Access To Organs (PROACTOR) Task Force was created to inform ongoing ASTS organ access efforts. Task force members were charged with comprehensively cataloguing current organ access activities and organizing them according to stakeholder type. This white paper summarizes the task force findings and makes recommendations for future ASTS organ access initiatives.     

Brain death determination: the imperative for policy and legal initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa

The concept of brain death (BD), defined as irreversible loss of function of the brain including the brainstem, is accepted in the medical literature and in legislative policy worldwide. However, in most of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) there are no legal guidelines regarding BD. Hypothetical scenarios based on our collective experience are presented which underscore the consequences of the absence of BD policies in resource-limited countries (RLCs). Barriers to the development of BD laws exist in an RLC such as Kenya. Cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity creates a complex perspective about death challenging the development of uniform guidelines for BD. The history of the medical legal process in the USA provides a potential way forward. Uniform guidelines for legislation at the state level included special consideration for ethnic or religious preferences in specific states. In SSA, medical and social consensus on the definition of BD is a prerequisite for the development BD legislation. Legislative policy will (1) limit prolonged and futile interventions; (2) mitigate the suffering of families; (3) standardise clinical practice; and (4) facilitate better allocation of scarce critical care resources in RLCs. There is a clear-cut need for these policies, and previous successful policies can serve to guide these efforts.     

基于省级监测平台的陕西省药品短缺现状研究

目的：调查陕西省药品短缺现状,分析短缺原因,为保障药品供应提供参考。方法：依托陕西省药品短缺监测平台,收集2016年5月至2017年4月期间短缺药品的通用名、剂型、规格、价格等信息,通过描述性统计方法分析药品短缺现状和特征,探索药品短缺原因。结果：共收集药品短缺信息187条,登记短缺药品109种,平均每种药品短缺频次为1.72次。化学药品、中成药和生物制剂均出现不同程度的短缺,化学药品中抗肿瘤药短缺最为严重。对短缺药品的特征进行统计,发现大部分为生产厂家较少和采购价格较低,基本药物和注射剂更容易出现短缺。结论：陕西省药品短缺形势不容乐观,短缺药品品种多,覆盖疾病种类广,具体短缺原因尚不明确。建议完善药品短缺监测平台;加强对制药企业的日常监管;安排专人指导制药企业进行整改;定点生产常见易短缺药品。