scholarly journals Breakdown in the Organ Donation Process and Its Effect on Organ Availability

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manik Razdan ◽  
Howard B. Degenholtz ◽  
Jeremy M. Kahn ◽  
Julia Driessen

Background. This study examines the effect of breakdown in the organ donation process on the availability of transplantable organs. A process breakdown is defined as a deviation from the organ donation protocol that may jeopardize organ recovery.Methods. A retrospective analysis of donation-eligible decedents was conducted using data from an independent organ procurement organization. Adjusted effect of process breakdown on organs transplanted from an eligible decedent was examined using multivariable zero-inflated Poisson regression.Results. An eligible decedent is four times more likely to become an organ donor when there is no process breakdown (adjusted OR: 4.01; 95% CI: 1.6838, 9.6414;P<0.01) even after controlling for the decedent’s age, gender, race, and whether or not a decedent had joined the state donor registry. However once the eligible decedent becomes a donor, whether or not there was a process breakdown does not affect the number of transplantable organs yielded. Overall, for every process breakdown occurring in the care of an eligible decedent, one less organ is available for transplant. Decedent’s age is a strong predictor of likelihood of donation and the number of organs transplanted from a donor.Conclusion. Eliminating breakdowns in the donation process can potentially increase the number of organs available for transplant but some organs will still be lost.

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T Gravel ◽  
Penelope Szeman

Although transplantation centers directly benefit from organ and tissue donation, they continue to yield low organ and tissue referral and donation rates. Our medical center and organ procurement organization developed a model to increase referral and donation rates. This model, called the Transplant Center Development Model, facilitates the donation process, specializes staff education, and promotes administrative involvement. After it was was implemented at our medical center in 1991, the referral and donation rates from 1988 to 1990 were compared with those from 1991 to 1993. The results showed that after implementation of the model, the organ referral mean increased 47%; the organ donation mean, 50%; and the tissue donation mean, 117%. These findings suggest that this model may be a valuable tool in transplant center development.


HPB ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. e74
Author(s):  
M.B.M. Doyle ◽  
J.A. Lowell ◽  
E. Stahlschmidt ◽  
D. Brockmeier ◽  
K. Collins ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Downing ◽  
Linda L. Jones

Introduction: Older adults (50-70 years old) have lower organ donor registration rates than younger adults. Older adults have different informational needs and donor registration behavior than younger age groups. Objective: The objective of this qualitative study was to understand insights of older adults about organ donation to effectively address the barriers to becoming an organ donor. This study identified turning points as “Aha!” moments that occurred during a dialogue intervention where older adults discussed benefits, barriers, and process to organ donation. Setting and Participants: Dialogues were held with small groups of older adults in 11 communities in a Midwestern organ procurement organization service area. Participants were positive to organ donation, but not registered as an organ donor. Methods/Approach: Qualitative analysis of verbatim comments from the dialogue and a follow-up survey were used to examine turning points or “Aha!” moments of participants’ decision-making about organ donation and organ donor registration. Findings: Twenty-one separate in-depth dialogues were conducted with 198 participants, with mean age of 60.57 years. There were 2757 separate comments coded with 465 of the comments (17%) identified as providing Aha! moments during the dialogue. Three themes include benefits of organ donation (30%), barriers about organ donation (39%), and organ donation process (31%). Discussion: The research identified moments in the dialogue where possible learning about organ donation may have occurred. After participation in the dialogue process, there was an increase in intent to register to be an organ donor, organ donation discussion with family and friends, and organ donor registration.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Jozef Zalot ◽  

This guide was developed in collaboration with LifeCenter Organ Donor Network (Cincinnati, OH) to offer chaplains a framework for the best possible course of action when they provide spiritual care to family members of patients who are potential vital organ donors. Some organ procurement organizations (OPOs) may want to control the donation process. They are thus hesitant to invite in—let alone collaborate with—any “outsiders” who they believe might undermine the likelihood of procuring vital organs. So how should a chaplain respond when ministering to potential vital organ donors and their families? Should they speak with family members about donation? What should they say? Do OPOs want chaplains to speak with family members? Should there be limits to these conversations? This can be a touchy area, because vital organ donation necessarily entails the death of the patient. This makes the relationship between chaplains and OPOs sometimes strained.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana S. Iltis

In July 2013, parents in Ohio objected to their 21-year-old son becoming an organ donor. Elijah Smith was involved in an accident and pronounced dead using neurological criteria. The organ procurement organization (OPO) went to court and argued that because the young man was brain dead and because his driver's license indicated that he wished to be a donor, the court should allow them to use his organs. The mother argued that her son did not understand what he was signing when he signed his license and that his signature did not reflect an informed decision. The court disagreed with her, saying that he had indicated a wish to donate his organs and that no one but Elijah could revoke that wish. His organs were removed.Elijah's mother suspected that he did not understand what he was signing. She might have been right, given what we know about the process for obtaining permission for organ donation and the limited public understanding of brain death.


2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Metzger ◽  
Gloria J. Taylor ◽  
Lin J. McGaw ◽  
Francis L. Delmonico ◽  
Jeffrey M. Prottas ◽  
...  

Purpose To gain consensus on aspects of the process of gaining consent for organ donation that should be mainstream daily practice. Methods A 3-day consensus conference of transplant professionals that provided a forum for research and innovative ideas about gaining consent for organ donation. Four work groups were assembled to address issues of gaining consent from organ and tissue donors: (1) demystifying first-person consent (donor authorization): is it a matter of law?, (2) recovery coordinators: getting from green to great, (3) maximizing the process: old views and new, and (4) donor family support: mother or smother? Results Participants reached a consensus about major consent-related practices, identified areas of practice variance, and defined topics in need of further research. Conclusions The conference participants agreed that (1) the primary role of the organ procurement organization is to recover organs for transplantation from deceased donors and to facilitate distribution of those organs to the appropriate recipients; (2) early referral of potential donors from the hospital to the organ procurement organization is desirable; (3) a score less than 5 on the Glasgow Coma Scale should initiate end-of-life discussions with family members; a procurement coordinator from the organ procurement organization who is physically housed within the hospital is the most successful model for accommodating early referral of potential donors and optimizing family support practices; and (3) a decedent's right to donate should take precedence in the donation process and such designation by the donor before death is irrevocable and does not require the consent or concurrence of any person after the donor's death.


1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Shafer ◽  
R. Patrick Wood ◽  
Charles Van Buren ◽  
William Guerriero ◽  
Kimberly Davis ◽  
...  

A 4-year retrospective study was conducted regarding the donor potential, consent rates, and organ recovery at a large 500-bed public trauma hospital. An independent organ procurement organization hired two in-house coordinators, one white and one black, to work exclusively in the hospital. The duties of the in-house coordinators included the following: working with nurses, physicians, and residents to identify donors; closely managing and coordinating the consent process; and assisting organ procurement coordinators in donor management. Following the program's implementation and the use of race-specific requesters, a 64% increase in consent rate resulted along with an overall increase of 94% in the number of organ donors. The consent rate of blacks increased 115%, whereas the number of black organ donors increased 154%. The Hispanic consent rate increased 48% with a corresponding increase of 83% in the number of Hispanic organ donors. In addition, the white consent rate increased from 55% (the 3-year average from 1993 to 1995) to 75% in 1996, resulting in a 36% increase following the implementation of the program. The investment of dedicated race-sensitive personnel in large urban county trauma facilities can result in a significant increase in donor conversion rates.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marli Elisa Nascimento Fernandes ◽  
Zélia Zilda Lourenço de Camargo Bittencourt ◽  
Ilka de Fátima Santana Ferreira Boin

Objective: to identify experiences and feelings on the organ donation process, from the perspective of a relative of an organ donor in a transplant unit.Method: this was exploratory research using a qualitative approach, performed with seven family members of different organ donors, selected by a lottery. Sociodemographic data and the experiences regarding the donation process were collected through semi-structured interviews. The language material was transcribed and submitted to content analysis.Results: poor sensitivity of the medical staff communicating the relative's brain death - the potential donor - and the lack of socio-emotional support prior to the situation experienced by the family was highlighted by participants.Conclusions: the study identified the need to provide social-emotional support for families facing the experience of the organ donation process. From these findings, other care and management practices in health must be discussed to impact the strengthening of the family ties, post-donation, as well as the organ procurement indexes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol L Beasley ◽  
Carie Lynn Capossela ◽  
Lori E Brigham ◽  
Susan Gunderson ◽  
Phyllis Weber ◽  
...  

In this article the results of a 2-year intervention designed to increase rates of organ donation while improving services to bereaved families of potential donors are described. The project focused on improving key elements of the organ donation process. The intervention was implemented in 50 hospitals within the service areas of three organ procurement organizations. Results show an increase in identification, referral, and asking rates. The overall donation rate increased significantly, from 33% to 43%. However, consent rates remained unchanged. Future efforts should focus on improving the request process by systematically incorporating practices that are associated with higher consent rates. This should enable hospital and organ procurement organization staff to appropriately and effectively offer families the option of organ donation; further increases in organ donation should follow.


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