Any ventilated patient with a devastating illness or injury
Federal and local regulations mandate every death and every imminent death be reported to the local organ procurement organization (aka DonorConnect) As a separate consultant, DonorConnect is able to determine the suitability of each patient for organ and/or tissue donation on a case-by-case basis.
Call the Donor Referral Line at 800-833-6667 (1-800-83-DONOR). We are available 24/7, every day of the year. These calls are answered by our answering service. Shortly after providing the initial referral information, one of our organ coordinators will call you directly.
Organ donation can only occur if the organs are kept viable through mechanical ventilation and vascular support.
Families need time to accept what has happened to their loved one. Be consistent in your message and work with DonorConnect staff members to determine the best time to tell the family about donation.
It is important for all multidisciplinary medical staff from the hospital as well as DonnorConnect to work as a team to discuss and communicate declaration, patient management, and the family care plan.
Always call! Our coordinators are specially qualified to screen all donors for eligibility. You never know what the outcome might be. The worst that will happen is DonorConnect will simply stop following your patient.
Usually families are informed of donation after:
After this, it would be appropriate for the physician or nurse to introduce the DonorConnect coordinator to the family. A DonorConnect coordinator will go to the hospital. The family will be told about donation:
DonorConnect works with hospital staff to provide emotional support to the family. In the case of brain death, he/she helps the family understand that their loved one is dead. Collaboration between DonorConnect and hospital staff is imperative to the process to ensure the respect of the potential donor family’s loss while assuring that other lives are saved.
The family is contacted at home by DonorConnect and told about the following types of donation: corneas, bone with associated tissues of the upper and lower extremities including the hip, skin, saphenous veins and femoral veins, and heart valves. You can help by asking the family for a telephone number where they can be reached. This will enable DonorConnect to act quickly and avoid the removal of the patient’s body by the funeral home or the medical examiner prior to donation.
Organ and tissue recoveries take place in the operating room at the hospital where the patient dies and are treated just like a normal surgery.
Unexpected and often traumatic death can be countered with life-saving donation – a positive and selfless act that offers some comfort to families. When a loved one’s prior decision to be a donor is legally documented, donor families find solace knowing they are complying with their loved one’s decision. When there is no prior legal documentation, next-of-kin often express that they feel a sense of meaning when they decide to donate. They are comforted in their belief that the gift of donation is something their loved one would have wanted because it reflects their lifestyle and values.
We have an intensivist physicians as well as a neuro surgeon and a procurement and transplantation surgeon on our team that we work with very closely.
Hover to find how you impact organ and tissue donation.
The success of organ and tissue donation hinges on our partnership with healthcare professionals in the 94 hospitals in this region and our dual commitment to support donor families and transplant recipients. Early referrals and the management of the patient by hospitals allow DonorConnect staff to quickly evaluate the patient’s ability to become a donor. Hospital staff and DonorConnect work together to help the potential donor’s family understand what brain death means while providing emotional support and detailed information on organ donation. Transplant centers recover and transplant the needed donations to the patients in their care. All of these coordinated efforts carefully carried out by the hospitals, DonorConnect and transplant centers lead to more lives being saved by the donor and by all of us honoring the wish to give the gift of life. DonorConnect is committed to a successful partnership with you and your hospital in support of donor families and transplant recipients. How to contact DonorConnect: Call the Donor Referral Line at 800-833-6667 or 1-800-83-DONOR. We are available 24/7, every day of the year.
Hover to read official statements from different faiths
Baptist: Donation is a compassionate and personal choice.
Buddhism: Donation is a matter of individual conscience.
Catholicism: Donation is an act of charity and love.
Christian Science: Donation is an individual
decision.
Episcopal: Donation emulates Christ’s sacrifice for mankind.
Hinduism: Donation is an individual decision.
Islam: Donation fulfills the priority of saving human life.
Jehovah’s Witness: Donation is an individual decision.
Judaism: Four major branches encourage donation.
Lutheran: Donation contributes to the well-being of humanity.
LDS: Donation is a selfless act that often results in great benefit to others.
Pentecostal: Donation is a personal choice.
Presbyterian: Donation is encouraged.
Quakers: Donation is an individual choice.
Seventh-Day Adventist: Donations is strongly encouraged.
Unitarian Universalist: Donation is an act of love.
United Church of Christ: Donation is strongly encouraged.
United Methodist: Donation is encouraged