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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Miss
Amy
Evans
+44 (0)1223 588 016
SIGNET@nhsbt.nhs.uk
More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.
Organ transplantation
This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.
All organs removed from donors have already suffered a degree of damage. As the brain dies (and all of these donors are brain-stem dead) chemicals are released which cause an “inflammation” of the whole body. Measurements of this “inflammation” link to how well the organs function in the recipient after transplant.
Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that have benefits across a range of health problems. In particular, statins damp down inflammation in the body and in individual organs. Statins protect the lungs and kidneys in a range of illnesses.
Recently, transplant doctors in Finland linked all this information in an innovative clinical study. Organ donors who were about to donate their heart were randomly allocated to receive a dose of a statin. After the transplant, the recipients who received a heart from a donor who had statins had less heart damage. The numbers were modest, and no survival advantage could be demonstrated. There was a small benefit for lung and liver recipients, but importantly there was no disadvantage in receiving any organ from a donor who had received the drug.
A significant number of hearts and other organs offered for transplant by the donor family are not used; for the heart, this figure is about 75%. The reason for being so selective is that poor function of the donor heart in the recipient is by far the most common cause of death after a transplant. Any step in the donor which might improve the transplanted heart could have a major benefit to the recipient. The same principle applies to all the other organs transplanted.
The aim of this study is to investigate whether giving deceased organ donors a single dose of the drug simvastatin, a very commonly used and safe drug, is beneficial for transplant recipients.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
2024 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39299790/ (added 20/09/2024)
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
1. Aged <18 years2. Planned donation after cessation of circulation (DCD)3. Known donor allergic hypersensitivity to simvastatin
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
Miss
Amy
Evans
+44 (0)1223 588 016
SIGNET@nhsbt.nhs.uk
More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.
The study is sponsored by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and funded by NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Co-ordinating Centre (NETSCC); Grant Codes: NIHR131124.
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Or CPMS 49404
You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.
