Calling All Donors: Albany Med Makes Pledge To Boost Organ Donations

By Robert Cristo

The Record

January 23, 2004

ALBANY - Knowing that 19 percent of all people in desperate need of an organ transplant die waiting for a gift of life, Albany Medical Center Hospital is stepping up its effort to boost donation rates throughout the country.

Hospital officials announced a new collaborative effort with the Center for Donation and Transplant (CDT) Thursday, which was spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.

Dubbed the "Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative," the initiative's main goal aims at increasing donations from an average of 46 percent to about 75 percent by joining together with hospitals across America to learn about and fine tune successful practices each institutions employs.

Currently, Albany Med's donation rate is slightly higher than the national average of 56 percent. The hospital is one of 200 medical institutions across the country chosen to participate in the program.

"It's an approach which adds focus, training and a list of the best practices with proven positive results that increase organ donation," said CDT Director Jeffrey Orlowski, at the Albany Medical College on New Scotland Avenue.

Throughout the country, nearly 84,000 people are waiting for phone calls that will tell them a new kidney, liver, pancreas, lung or heart has become available.

According to hospital officials, nearly 17 people die each day waiting for transplants, and the estimated 6,000 organ donations made each year translate into about 22,000 life-saving transplant operations.

That's because even one donor could make four or five organs available for waiting recipients.

The 200 participating hospitals were picked because of their combined potential to dramatically increase the organ procurement opportunities through three main practices:

• The establishment of an in-house CDT organ procurement coordinator, which will allow more time to educate medical professionals about donation and will enable them to assist hospital staff in identifying potential organ donors.
• Improve chances of donation by ensuring that CDT members are immediately notified when a patient is placed on a list that includes head injury, ventilator support or imminent brain death.
• Encourage physicians and staff to avoid discussing donation with family members after a patient has died, and instead have a CDT coordinator handle those duties.

"You're dealing with grief-stricken people, so it's difficult, but I try to give as much information and time as possible for them to make a decision," said Maureen Teal, a CDT organ procurement coordinator. "It gives families the chance to take control of something and change death into life, but whatever decision they make, we support them."

Since 1969, doctors at Albany Med have completed about 2,000 kidney, pancreas and, most recently, heart transplants.

However, the hospital's heart transplant program was suspended last fall and is currently under investigation for allegedly giving transplants to patients who weren't deemed "urgent status" candidates.

Hospital spokesman Gregory McGarry said the suspension of the heart program "has not" affected organ donation rates at the hospital. In fact, he says donations have actually gone up somewhat over the past few months.

He also says the heart transplant program investigation will go on for about a year, and he's not sure when or if the program will open back up.

There are currently between 150 and 200 people in the Capital District waiting for organ transplants.

Copyright © 2004 The Record.

Copyright © 1995-2004 Power One Media.

This article posted February 13, 2004.