Australian Donation and Transplantation Biobank: A Research Biobank Integrated Within a Deceased Organ and Tissue Donation Program

Varun J Sharma; Graham Starkey; Rohit D'Costa; Fiona James; Effie Mouhtouris; Lisa Davis; Boa Zhong Wang; Angela Vago; Jaishankar Raman; Laura K Mackay; Helen Opdam; Robert Jones; M Lindsay Grayson; Dominique E Martin; Claire L Gordon

doi:10.1097/TXD.0000000000001422

Australian Donation and Transplantation Biobank: A Research Biobank Integrated Within a Deceased Organ and Tissue Donation Program

Transplant Direct. 2022 Dec 12;9(1):e1422. doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001422. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Varun J Sharma^{1

2

3}, Graham Starkey^{1

2}, Rohit D'Costa^{4

5}, Fiona James⁶, Effie Mouhtouris⁶, Lisa Davis⁶, Boa Zhong Wang^{1

2}, Angela Vago², Jaishankar Raman^{1

3}, Laura K Mackay⁷, Helen Opdam^{8

9}, Robert Jones^{1

2}, M Lindsay Grayson^{6

7}, Dominique E Martin¹⁰, Claire L Gordon^{6

7

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery (Austin Health), Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, VIC, Melbourne, Australia.
² Liver & Intestinal Transplant Unit, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Department of Cardiac Surgery, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ DonateLife Victoria, Carlton, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁹ DonateLife, The Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, ACT, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
¹¹ North Eastern Public Health Unit, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

We aimed to facilitate the donation of tissue samples for research by establishing a centralized system integrated in the organ donation program for collection, storage, and distribution of samples (the Australian Donation and Transplantation Biobank [ADTB]).

Methods: Feasibility of a research biobank integrated within the deceased organ and tissue donation program was assessed. DonateLife Victoria sought consent for ADTB donation after consent was received for organ donation for transplantation from the donor's senior available next of kin. ADTB samples were collected during donation surgery and distributed fresh to researchers or stored for future research. The main outcome measures were ADTB donation rates, ADTB sample collection, ADTB sample use, and to identify ethical considerations.

Results: Over 2 y, samples were collected for the ADTB from 69 donors (28% of 249 donors). Samples were obtained from the spleen (n = 59, 86%), colon (n = 57, 83%), ileum (n = 56, 82%), duodenum (n = 55, 80%), blood (n = 55, 80%), bone marrow (n = 55, 80%), skin (n = 54, 78%), mesenteric lymph nodes (n = 56, 81%), liver (n = 21, 30%), lung (n = 29, 42%), and lung-draining lymph node (n = 29, 42%). Heart (n = 20), breast (n = 1), and lower urinary tract (n = 1) samples were obtained in the second year. Five hundred fifty-six samples were used in 19 ethics-approved research projects spanning the fields of immunology, microbiology, oncology, anatomy, physiology, and surgery.

Conclusions: The integration of routine deceased donation and transplantation activities with a coordinated system for retrieval and allocation of donor samples for use in a range of research projects is feasible and valuable.