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Northwest Tissue Services provides excellent service not only to its distribution clients but also to its donor hospitals. Since its inception, Northwest Tissue Services' specialists in hospital development have been educating hospital staff on the process of referring potential donors and offering the option of donation to families to ensure that hospitals comply with the state and federal Required Request legislation. Along with these efforts, this department also provides immediate follow up to hospitals after a referral results in a tissue donation.
Northwest Tissue Services receives donor referrals from all hospitals in Washington,
Northern Idaho and Montana, and from medical examiners, coroners, the organ procurement
agency and the eye banks serving the region. Referral calls are made to a central donor
referral line where callers are asked several questions about the potential donor. The
coordinator on call is paged and will then follow up with the referring facility to
determine if donation options can be offered to the next of kin.
Tissue Services works collaboratively with the other procurement agencies in the region to ensure that the next of kin's wishes for donation are honored whenever possible. This cooperative effort facilitates easy donor referral and comprehensive donor evaluation.
The goal of approaching a family about donation is to offer an informed choice and to
support their decision, whether they choose to consent or not. Families are given time to
think about the options offered to them and time to ask questions. If they choose to
donate, the next of kin is asked to sign a consent document. An informed consent must
include the specific organs and tissues the family wishes to donate, a statement regarding
the intended use for the tissues (transplantation or advancement of medical science and
education or research), and information regarding infectious disease testing to be
performed. Consent can be obtained by a donation coordinator from any of the procurement
agencies or by hospital staff trained to obtain informed consent.
Donor selection is based initially on information available at the time of the death.
This includes a review of the available medical records, discussion with medical staff,
and a next-of-kin interview using a standardized screening form. The next-of-kin interview
may be performed at a later time if the family is unable to complete it at the time of the
donation. Donation coordinators determine preliminary suitability and schedule the
recovery of tissues that are then placed in quarantine while donor evaluation is
completed.
Tissue Services is committed to caring for donor families during and after the donation. A bereavement program offers families support after their loss. Donor family recognition ceremonies are held twice a year in cooperation with the other procurement agencies. Donor families have commented that these events offer them an opportunity to gain strength from other families and from their generous gift of donation. |
