Tissue Donation Process
Steps to a Referral
Step 1: Call the Donor Information Line within 1 hour after any death. 303.321.0060
Step 2: Be prepared for a call back from Donor Alliance for secondary screening.
Step 3: Is patient a Registered Donor? If not, what are they eligible for? Make note of this!
Step 4: Inform your Designated Requestor to speak to the family. They are your Chaplains or Nursing Supervisors!
Steps to an E-Referral
Step 1: Submit an E-Referral via EPIC within 60 minutes of CTOD
Step 2: Be prepared for a call back from Donor Alliance for screening.
Step 3: Document in EPIC on the Death Documentation flow sheet.
Step 4: If asked, inform your Designated Requester to speak to the family about donation. They are your Chaplains or Nursing Supervisors!
The Tissue Donation Process:
Tissue donors have the potential to save and heal dozens of people through their donated gifts. Corneas or whole eyes, bone, bone marrow, skin, tendons, ligaments, heart valves and other cardiovascular tissues can be transplanted. Great care is taken in the recovery of tissues to ensure presentation of the body for funeral purposes. Generally, donation will not delay funeral arrangements, and tissue donation does not interfere with an open-casket funeral for the donor.
Here’s how the process works:
1.Death Occurs
– When a patient dies, the hospital staff notifies family members. Federal regulations mandate that the hospital notifies an organ procurement organization, such as Donor Alliance, of all deaths occurring there. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Donor Alliance receives and coordinates organ and tissue referrals in our service area, which cover just more than 100 hospitals.
2.Assess Donation Possibility
– The deceased patient is assessed for suitability for tissue donation, based on criteria such as age, cause of death and medical history.
3.First-person Authorization
– Donor Alliance will check the Organ & Tissue Donor Registry to determine if the person is a registered donor. If he/she is a registered donor, Donor Alliance will inform the family that their loved one decided while he or she was living to give the gift of life to someone who truly needs it. Donor Alliance maintains a legal obligation to observe all end-of-life decisions, including donor designation. The states of Colorado and Wyoming recognize this as a legally binding decision. Donor Alliance and all hospitals are legally obligated to honor advance directives, including organ, eye and tissue recovery decisions by the patient.
4.Approach Family about Donation
– If a person has the potential to be a donor but has not registered, Donor Alliance contacts the family and presents the option to donate. If family members are interested in donation, they must agree to an authorization form that itemizes each tissue they want to donate.
5.Gather Information
– The family must also answer a medical/social questionnaire (similar to those asked when a person donates blood). These questions are asked for the protection of the recipients and to screen for communicable diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis. The medical history then is examined to ensure the tissue is suitable for transplantation.
The Tissue Donation Process
6.Recover and Transplant Tissue
– If the donor’s tissues are eligible to be donated, a surgical team recovers them in an aseptic surgical procedure. To show respect to the donor, any incisions are closed and the body is reconstructed in a way that will still allow a viewing or open casket funeral. The recovered tissues are then used to create numerous grafts for transplant.
Donor Alliance partners with several tissue processing facilities:
- www.allosource.org
- www.cryolife.com
- www.abbvie.com
Authorization for Donation:
Donor Registry
The Colorado/Wyoming donor registry is a confidential and electronic database listing the names of every Colorado and Wyoming resident who has made the decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. 69% of Coloradans and 60% of Wyomingites are registered organ, eye, and tissue donors. The registry is first person authorization, meaning your decision to be a donor takes priority over your family’s preferences.
Next of Kin Authorization
In Colorado and Wyoming if an individual does not designate themselves as a registered donor, then their next-of-kin would make that decision on their behalf. The family can be approached for donation by a Designated requestor for tissue and eye donation after cardiac death. If the hospital does not have Designated requestors present, or the decedent is between the ages of 12-60, then a member of Donor Alliance will approach the family over the phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
They will inquire about brief description of what happened from admission to the hospital, course of care, and what led up to death of patient.
This may include further questions including ABX, WBC, temperatures, blood cultures, skin condition of patient.
They also inquire about coroner involvement, if next of kin have been notified or are at bedside, if the decedent has an advance directive or MDPOA paperwork on file, if the Funeral Home has been selected, which physician will be signing the death certificate, and the timeframe for the patient to go to the morgue.
Tissue donation and Organ donation have different criteria to evaluate for acceptance or denial of donation, this requires both teams to make their own assessment of the patient.
Designated Requestors are hospital personnel that have been trained to have a conversation with families about tissue / eye donation. They complete annual training to enhance their skills. If an individual does not designate themselves as a registered donor, then your next-of-kin would make that decision on their behalf. The Designated Requestors approach for tissue and eye donation after cardiac death.
Eye care should be performed, and a decedent needs to be cooled within 12 hours of CTOD.