West Virginia Hospital Association

Organ Donation Resources

Organ Donation

Each organ and tissue donor saves or improves the lives of as many as 50 people, and about 77 people receive organ transplants on a daily basis. Unfortunately, however, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place because of organ donation shortages. Between 10,000 and 12,000 individuals considered medically suitable for organ donation die annually because of a lack of available organs. Nearly 70,000 people await kidney transplants. Following kidneys, livers, lungs, and hearts are the organs in greatest demand for transplantation.

Federal Regulation - Hospital Conditions of Participation

Regulation 42 CFR 482.45: In an effort to save lives by substantially increasing organ donation, the Health Care Financing Administration finalized the Medicare conditions of participation for hospitals regarding organ, tissue, and eye procurement on August 21, 1998. The regulation is the centerpiece of the National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative, which set a goal of a 20 percent increase in the first two years of the regulation. Under the rule, West Virginia hospitals are required to notify their organ procurement organization (OPO) of all deaths and imminent deaths that occur in the hospital. The rule emphasizes collaboration between the hospital and its OPO, with which it must have an agreement, so that the family of every potential donor knows about the option to donate organs or tissues.

Twenty states, including West Virginia, have adopted the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act

HHS Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative: A History

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative to bring together donation professionals and hospital leaders to identify and share best practices to maximize donation rates from potential organ donors who die in their facilities. That commitment, also known as the Gift of Life Donation Initiative, led to 2004's record transplant totals through which the number of transplant candidates who died waiting for an organ fell below 6,000 for the first time in six years. While donations from deceased donors rose both in hospitals participating in the collaborative and in those not taking part, the increase was higher for those in the collaborative (16 percent compared to 2003) than for non-participating hospitals (9.4 percent). In 2004, 26,984 Americans received an organ transplant, which set a new national record. The increase in organ donations came in the wake of concentrated efforts led by HHS to boost consent rates for organ donation, which began in 2001.

West Virginia Donation Initiative: A History

In 2004, the West Virginia Donation Initiative (WVDI) was begun in West Virginia. The Initiative is a collaboration of the West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA), the state’s four OPOs, and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The statewide project was one of the first of its kind in the nation and represents the first time an entire state – West Virginia – came together under the auspices of increasing organ donation rates. The goal of the project: to increase donation rates in West Virginia to 75 percent.

The WVDI was introduced by former U.S. Secretary of HHS Tommy Thompson at the WVHA’s 79^th Annual Meeting in 2004, at The Greenbrier Resort. According to Bruce McClymonds, CEO, West Virginia University Hospitals and WVHA Chairman of the Board of Trustees during that year, “Improving collection success rates with respect to organ donation is not a difficult process, but it does require administrative leadership and organizational commitment. Hospital leaders should take the time to understand the issues involved and to ensure that their facility is positioned to improve its performance.”

In January 2005, at the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative in Alabama, the WVHA was recognized by HHS for its efforts to designate Donation Champions in its member hospitals. Later, HHS Breakthrough Director Dennis Wagner wrote to the WVHA, “I am writing to thank you for your executive leadership, commitment and actions in support of organ donation. We appreciate all that the West Virginia hospitals, the WVHA, and your organ procurement officers have done and are currently doing to extend the Gift of Life to others.”

The WVDI held its first Breakout Collaborative Conference in 2005 in Flatwoods, West Virginia. For the past four years, the conferences have been held at Stonewall Jackson Resort in Roanoke, West Virginia, and have since expanded into two-day learning events.

WVDI Collaborative Conference: Partnership Power: Practice into Progress

Donate Life West Virginia will hold its annual two-day conference October 13-14, 2009, at Stonewall Jackson Resort. The conference is an opportunity to earn CEUs, spread collaborative knowledge and learn best practices, with an overall goal of saving more lives through donation. We anticipate the support of all of our hospital partners to make this event a success. For more information and to register, please click here.

West Virginia’s Four OPOs

1. Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE). Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and with an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE, manages the organ and tissue donor program for western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and a small portion of New York. Each of the hospitals in CORE’s designated region serves as a referral site for potential donors. Charleston Area Medical Center and West Virginia University Hospitals are two of CORE’s six hospitals that perform life-saving organ transplants.

2. Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) is the federally designated organ procurement organization that serves Kentucky, southern Indiana and Cabell and Wayne counties in West Virginia. KODA originated as a combination of existing organ and tissue procurement programs at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.

3. Lifeline of Ohio (LOOP) serves Ohio and West Virginia to promote and coordinate organ and tissue donation. LOOP provides services to 64 hospitals and the communities they serve through its transplant coordinators, surgical technicians and professional staff. In addition to clinical recovery and distribution of organs and tissues, Lifeline of Ohio seeks to raise awareness about the drastic need for donation.

4. LifeNet Health is the nation's largest nonprofit, full-service organ donation agency and tissue banking system and holds the longest running current accreditation by the American Association of Tissue Banks. A leading organ procurement organization, LifeNet Health was the first provider of its kind to be registered to the International Organization for Standardization.

West Virginia Organ Donation License Plates

The West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles offers organ donation awareness license plate. The license plate reads “Organ Donation Saves Lives” and includes the Donate Life logo. The specialty plates are a great way to show support for and raise awareness of organ donation. For more information on the organ donor license plates and to place an order, please visit Donate Life West Virginia.

Attention West Virginia High School Educators

CORE is offering grant money to West Virginia high schools that will teach organ and tissue donation awareness. To apply, please contact Julia Homa for an application.

Focus Articles on Organ Donation (Located on WVHA Media Page)

Focus, Vol. 26 No.2 November 20, 2006 (Page 3)

Focus, Vol. 25 No.3 August 23, 2006 (Page 4)

Focus, Vol. 24 No. 4, April 12, 2006 (Page 4)

Focus, Vol. 21 No.2, February 18, 2005 (Page 3)

Focus, Vol. 20 No. 1, November 12, 2004 (Page 3)

Focus, Vol. 19 No. 3, October 11, 2004 (Page 1)

Focus, Vol. 18 No. 4, May 14, 2004 (Page 4)

Calendar of Events

Donate Life Month
April 2009
April is National Donate Life Month! Celebrate by registering to be an organ donor today.

Transplant Expo
May 30, 2009
An interactive expo highlighting the history of transplantation debuts on May 30, 2009, during the American Transplant Congress in Boston. The exhibit will be located in The Shops at Prudential Center in downtown Boston.

U.S. Transplant Games — Alternating Even-Numbered Years in July
Olympic-style athletic events for transplant recipients celebrate the life-enabling gifts given by organ and tissue donors. Organized by the National Kidney Foundation. Medals are awarded to recipient winners, and to living donors and donor family members at separate recognition ceremonies. The Transplant Games illustrate that transplantation works to extend and enhance life. More information is available at the National Kidney Foundation Web site.

National Minority Donor Awareness Day
August 1, 2009
National Minority Donor Awareness Day reaches out to minorities and focuses on the various fears and obstacles associated with donation, encourages healthy living and disease prevention, and promotes life-saving organ, eye and tissue donation.

National Donor Sabbath
November 2009
National Donor Sabbath is observed two weekends before Thanksgiving as members of faith communities focus on the life-affirming gifts of hope passed to others by organ, eye, tissue, marrow and blood donors. Many faith leaders participate in services and programs to educate their congregations about donation and transplantation and the critical need for donors. More about marrow donation.

National Donor Day
February 14, 2009

Focused on five points of life: organs, tissues, marrow, platelets, and blood. Many nonprofit health organizations sponsor blood and marrow drives and organ/tissue donor card signings across the Nation. More about National Donor Day

For the Media

Words have the power to hurt and heal; to encourage or create despair; to promote understanding or contribute to misconception. That has never been truer than in dealing with the sensitive subject of organ, eye and tissue donation.

Certain words have been in the donation and transplantation lexicon for years, without much regard for the effect they have on potential donors, and donor families. Instead of the word "harvest," use "recover." It is a better word that doesn't conjure up visions of crops, crows and combines. "Surgical recovery of organs," is better than "harvesting of organs."

Use of the word "cadaver" or the phrase "cadaveric donation" tends to depersonalize the gift of donation. It is suggested that the use of "deceased donor" and "deceased donation" provide a more positive message to donor families and the general public.

Another sensitive area is the use of the words "life support" when referring to someone on "mechanical or ventilated support." There are two ways of determining death: when the heart stops functioning and when the brain stops functioning. Most organ donors suffer brain death before donation, and are on "mechanical support" when they die. During that time, the donor’s organs are perfused with oxygen for several hours, with "mechanical or ventilated support." When death occurs, there is no support that can make the individual live again, and using that terminology can confuse donor families.

Words mean everything when a donor family is dealing with the shock and grief over the death of a loved one, and words may make the critical difference when someone is trying to decide whether or not to become and organ, eye and tissue donor. – From Lifeline of Ohio

Donation Dictionary

National Donor Designation Report Card April 2009

Resources for the Media

Campaign Materials: Print, Radio and Television Ads, Brochures, PSAs, Posters

Stories of Hope: Experience Real Life Stories

Press Releases and News Articles:

1. WVU Hospitals Nationally Recognized for Organ Donations

2. Many Americans Express Interest in Organ and Tissue Donation, Too Few Register as Donors