Everyone knows February 14 is Valentine's Day. Did you also know February 14 is National Donor Day?
National Donor Day honors those who have donated organs, tissues, marrow and blood to save the lives of others. It also honors the families of donors who have made the decision to allow organs of loved ones to give new life to recipients. Sue Witte, social worker and Family Support Program coordinator at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about organ donation:
No one can really "plan" to be a donor, but in the event the question arises, what can we do now so our family and friends know we are willing to be organ donors?
Talk to your family and friends and let them know that this is something you want to do in the event something happened to you so they know and aren't caught off guard with that question.
The other thing is to register to be an organ and tissue donor on Iowa's Donor Registry. You can go to www.donorregistry.org or call 800-831-4131. This registry is available to medical staff 24 hours a day and allows us, if something happens to you, to check to see what your wishes were. Lastly, people should put a 'yes' on their driver's license when they're asked by the DOT. This indicates their desire, is a guide to the medical staff and family at the time of the death, and is your legal document at the time that something happens.
Who is eligible to be a donor?
Really, anyone can be a donor. There are a few medical and age requirements and patients are screened at the time of their death. So if you want to help others through donation say yes and talk to your family. You'll be screened appropriately at the right time.
Organ donation is no longer just major organs, what can be included in donations?
People who want to help others through donation have so many opportunities. You can donate
- Bone marrow through the bone marrow registry here by calling 800-944-8220
- Blood through the DeGowin Blood Center
After death, solid organ donation includes the heart, two lungs, two kidneys, liver, pancreas, and small intestine. Tissue donation would include skin, heart valves, bone, veins, vessels, and eyes.
And there's also a deeded body program for those who want to help our residents and nursing staff learn through medical research. So there are many opportunities.
Who makes the final decisions on organ donation?
Usually it is the agency screening the patient, so either Iowa Donor Network, Iowa Lions Eye Bank, or the DeGowin blood bank screen patients for infection and a medical history that would be a rule-out. There are guidelines we follow to review patients and then the surgeon makes the final decision.
How successful is UI Hospitals and Clinics about approaching families for organ donation?
University of Iowa Hospitals, over the past several years, has been quite successful regarding this incredible opportunity to save a life. I believe it's really that we're a transplant center, and we're a tertiary care center, and our staff are keenly aware of the gift these donations can be. We sensitively and carefully offer this opportunity to our families.
What is the national average for organ donation? Is Iowa's average higher?
The national average is approximately 60 percent and so 60 percent of the families that are asked about donations say yes. Iowa has been 76 percent and University Hospitals, over three years, has been above 79 percent.
Do donor families ever get a chance to meet the recipient of their person's donated organs?
Yes. Donor families receive a letter from Iowa Donor Network two weeks after their loved one's donation. It provides anonymous information about the recipients and correspondence is encouraged by both recipients and donors through the Iowa Donor Network. And if both—after a year of corresponding—would like to meet, the family support program at Iowa Donor Network puts those families together.
Can you tell us briefly how life changing it is to someone on the receiving end of an organ donation?
It truly is lifesaving. Some patients are so sick; they're in an ICU on life-support waiting for somebody to make that decision. And once they receive that gift, they are sometimes discharged in days or weeks to resume their life and live it fully.
There have been several patients here who have had half their bodies burned in terrible accidents and their lives were saved by skin donations. It's truly a miracle that these patients were able to survive and that came about by cadaver skin, or they never would have been able to walk out from this institution. Donations save lives. We do thank every family who has made that decision and what a nice thing to honor them on National Donor Day.
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