ntroduction: We conducted a retrospective study designed to monitor the fate of recipients of organs from donors with a CNS tumor to establish whether or not the malignancy got transferred. Material and methods: A total of 2,048 cadaveric organ donors were indicated for organ harvesting in the Czech Republic in the 1986–1998 period; in 42 (2.1%), the cause of the brain death was a CNS tumor. In one case, autopsy showed metastasis of bronchogenic carcinoma so the diagnosis of a CNS tumor was erroneous! A total of 92 organs (79 kidneys, 4 hearts, 5 livers, 3 pancreases, and 1 lung) were transplanted to 89 recipients. Results: Six recipients died immediately after transplantation, eleven recipients died in the late post-transplant period; of this number, two died due to malignancy (generalization of gynaecological carcinoma and bronchogenic carcinoma). Conclusion: In a group of 42 donors with the diagnosis of a CNS tumor, no malignancy transmission was demonstrated in 89 recipients.

        Key words: cadaveric organ donor - CNS tumor - malignancy transmission