- Home
- Transplant Links
- News
- News Archives
- My Life
- Search Engines
-
- Designed By
- Copyright 1998-2007
March 13, 2004
By Tommy McIntyre
Staff Writer
If you live in Southwest Florida and need an organ transplant, you will go to one of three hospitals.
Depending on the type of transplant surgery you face, you will go to either Tampa General Hospital or the Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center, Fort Myers.
If you are a child, transplant surgery will take place at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
SFRMC does mostly kidneys. Tampa General does the rest.
So, if you live along the west coast of Florida, deciding where to have the transplant is the easiest part of a long, arduous journey to a new life.
In general, preference is given to recipients from the same geographic area as the donor because timing is a critical element in the organ procurement process.
Hearts can be preserved for up to 6 hours, livers up to 24 hours and kidneys for 72 hours. Lungs cannot be preserved outside the body for any extended period of time.
While your physician is the best source of information on the operation and procedure, you can find out some information on your own.
The LifeLink Foundation is an excellent source for general background information on transplantation.
LifeLink Foundation is a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to the recovery and transplantation of an increasing number of high quality organs and tissues for transplant therapy. The foundation attempts to work sensitively, diligently and compassionately with donor families to facilitate the donation of desperately needed organs and tissues for waiting patients.
The foundation is committed to working closely with, and in support of, the United Network for Organ Sharing's goals and objectives.
The LifeLink HealthCare Institute implements critical pathways for transplantation care and end-stage disease treatment.
Persons waiting for transplants are listed at the transplant center where they plan to have surgery, and on a national computerized waiting list of potential transplant patients in the United States.
Under contract with the Health Resources and Services Administration, UNOS, located in Richmond, Va., maintains the national waiting list.
UNOS operates the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and maintains a 24-hour telephone service to aid in matching donor organs with patients on the national waiting list and to coordinate efforts with transplant centers.
When donor organs become available, several factors are taken into consideration in identifying the best matched recipient(s).
These include medical compatibility of the donor and potential recipient(s) on such characteristics as blood type, weight and age; urgency of need; and length of time on the waiting list.
The organ procurement process is a complex series of events that involve medical professionals at all levels in varied settings. Federal and state laws have been enacted to help ensure that the process is carried out in a fair and efficient way.
In general, here is how the process works:
The hospital identifies a potential donor. This may be done by an attending or consulting physician, transplant coordinator, house supervisor, emergency room or intensive care unit nurse.
An individual who is brain dead but is on a respirator and has a beating heart is an acceptable donor for: heart, heart valves, pancreas, liver, skin, eyes/corneas, lungs, bone, kidney and small bowel. An individual who has died due to a cardiac arrest and has no cardiac or respiratory activity is an acceptable donor for: eyes/corneas, blood vessels, cartilage, skin and bone.
Another criterion for potential organ and tissue donors is the absence of unresolved systemic infections, extra-cerebral malignancies or communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, etc.
The local organ procurement organization is contacted. Information on the potential donor's status and to confirm his or her suitability is exchanged.
The physician declares brain death. This must be done in accordance with state law and documented by one to two licensed physicians, depending on the state.
A medical evaluation of the potential donor is conducted. This is done by a representative of the OPO or an in-house donor coordinator and includes a complete history and physical of the donor patient.
The hospital to contact its local OPO. A representative offers the family the option of donating their deceased loved one's organs and tissues.
The donor is maintained medically by a representative of the organ procurement agency.
The vascular coordinator begins the process of matching donor organs to waiting recipients. Tissue typing takes from three to four hours. This testing is done for all kidney transplants, is recommended for pancreas transplants and may be required for other types of transplants. UNOS has developed a point system for selecting recipients as objectively as possible.
In addition to tissue type and blood group, other criteria include: percent of reactive antibody, waiting time on the list, medical urgency and, in the case of liver and heart transplants, distance from the transplant center.
Recipients are identified and called in for their preoperative work-ups at the transplant center.
Transplant teams are summoned and operating rooms scheduled.
The donor is taken to surgery. A complete operating room staff is available for multiple organ retrieval.
Special surgical teams are usually required for removal of heart, liver and pancreas; kidneys may be removed either by local surgeons or by special team staff.
Disposition of the body takes place according to the guidelines of the hospital. There is no change in the body's appearance after organ and tissue donation, and open-casket funerals are possible.
The transplant recipients are taken to surgery and the transplants are performed.
The organ procurement organization takes care of follow-up, which includes letters to the donor family, staff physician and nurses regarding the organs that have been transplanted.
Sources: American Medical Association, Department of Medical Student Services; Life Link
The number of patients awaiting organ transplants is computed nationwide. A breakdown for Southwest Florida was not available:
Source: LifeLink Foundation
409 Bayshore Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606
(813) 253-2640 or (800) 262-5775
12655 New Brittany Blvd., Building 13
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(800) 262-5775
LifeLink's four federally certified organ procurement organizations serve a combined population of 16 million people in West Central Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico. Its programs work closely with health care professionals, particularly hospital staff members, in the identification and referral of potential donors.
Editor's Note: This article is the fourth in a Gondolier Sun series on the importance of being an organ donor. We will be featuring profiles of donors and recipients in our community, as well as articles on the donation process and other subjects. If you or a loved one has been the donor or recipient of an organ and you would like to share that story, contact editor Bob Mudge at 207-1101, bmudge@venicegondolier.com or 200 E. Venice Ave., Venice, FL 34285. To obtain an organ donor card kit, contact LifeLink at www.lifelinkfound.org or (800) 262-5775.
E-mail Tommy McIntyre.
Copyright © 2004 Venice Gondolier Sun, a division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc.
Publishers of the Sun newspapers.
This article posted March 20, 2004.