Can a computer predict which organ donors will save lives?
NCT ID NCT04661787
First seen Sep 04, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026
Summary
This trial tests a decision-support tool called Donation Advisor. The tool uses vital signs from patients who are expected to die after life support is withdrawn, to predict whether they will become successful organ donors. Researchers will see if the tool helps healthcare teams identify suitable donors and improve transplant outcomes. The study involves patients eligible for donation after circulatory death, their transplant recipients, and healthcare professionals who provide feedback on the tool.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Donation Advisor, a clinical decision support tool that uses patient vital signs to predict the likelihood of successful organ donation after circulatory death
- What this could lead to
- If the tool works, it could help hospitals identify which potential organ donors are most likely to yield transplantable organs, reducing wasted efforts and improving the number of successful transplants.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small and early, involving only 36 participants across a few hospitals. The tool may not predict outcomes accurately enough for real-world use, and its success depends on how well healthcare teams adopt it.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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36 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2021
- Finished
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Dec 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
60-80 organ donation patients 180-240 transplant recipients (anticipated average of 3 per donor patient) 30-40 health care professionals to participate in interviews (reviewing the Donation Advisor Tool Reports)
- Ages
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Children (under 18), adults (18 to 64) and older adults (65 and over)
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria * for Organ Donation Patients: All patients eligible for DCD and whose substitute decision makers (SDMs) have been approached for consent by a Trillium Organ Tissue Donation Coordinator (OTDC). * for Organ Transplant Recipient Patients - All patients at any of the Transplant Centres participating in this study who are transplant recipients of the organs from enrolled donor patients. * for Health Care Professionals for Interviews to provide feedback on the Donation Advisor Tool - All physicians (donation and transplantation), bedside nurses and OTDCs who either have the potential to be involved in the care of study patients, or who been directly involved in the care of the study patients. Exclusion Criteria * None
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L6, Canada
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