are concerns about damage of the organs by toxic substances,
transfer of the poison and its metabolites to the
organ recipient, and legal issues arising from diagnosis
of brain death in intoxicated patients.
A series of methanol intoxications occurred in
the Czech Republic in September and October 2012.
One hundred seventeen ingestions of methanol were
reported to the Ministry of Health, and 37 of these
patients died. The main source of all ingestions was
illegally produced drinks with high methanol content
because of the addition of industrially produced
methanol to alcoholic drinks.
We diagnosed brain death according to Czech law
in 3 patients who experienced methanol intoxication,
which led to the procurement of 6 kidneys for transplant.