IOPO®: Indiana Organ Procurement Organization, Inc.

In the episode of Three Rivers, a young man, Daniel, is hit by a car and is brain dead.  His mom says it looks like he’s sleeping.

• Daniel is brain dead. He is not sleeping although lying in the bed he looks peaceful as though he is sleeping.  
• BRAIN DEATH IS DEATH – It is not the same as a coma and is an established medical and legal diagnosis of death.  The time brain death is declared is documented on the patient’s death certificate.
• A complete brain death examination is extensive and must be done under controlled conditions.
• Tests include a clinical examination to show that the patient has no brain reflexes and cannot breathe on his or her own.  A blood flow test (cerebral angiogram) or an EEG (electronecephalogram) may also be ordered.  These tests are done to confirm the absence of blood flow to the brain or brain activity.
• There has never been a documented case of recovery from brain death under circumstances where all confirmatory and clinical tests have been performed accurately.
• Per OPTN/UNOS policy, the host organ procurement organization (OPO) is responsible for verifying that death has been pronounced according to applicable state law.
• For more resources about brain death – visit the IOPO website at www.iopo.org and click on the Gift of Life Learning Center.

In the same episode a young woman, Christy, needs a lung transplant.  Dr. Yoblansky offers Christy a difficult decision: take lungs that are slightly damaged and perhaps die tonight, or risk not getting another offer for lungs and dying within weeks. 

• To ensure that life-saving organs are distributed fairly, there are a number of detailed policies governing the nation’s organ transplant system. These policies are developed by a consensus of organ transplant and procurement professionals, patients and donor families.
• Adherence to transplant policy is ensured through a comprehensive, systematic auditing and monitoring process. The policy compliance process is designed to maintain the highest standards in patient safety and foster public trust in the transplant network. Any deviation from policy is corrected quickly and thoroughly to protect patients and ensure that their treatment is not interrupted.
• The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the non-profit organization that operates the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role UNOS coordinates organ transplant policy development and compliance, maintains the nation’s waiting list, matches donated organs with transplant candidates and collects data on every transplant patient and donor in the United States.
• UNOS plays an important role in bringing together the transplant community to protect patients and the public trust by ensuring that organ allocation policies are followed by all transplant centers and organ procurement organizations in the United States. www.UNOS.org

For more resources about transplants, visit www.transplantliving.org or contact one of Indiana’s three transplant centers: Clarian Health, www.clarian.org,  Lutheran Transplant Center, www.lutheranhospital.com, St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana, www.theheartcenter.com

THREE RIVERS (Oct 4th show)
One of the key myths that keeps people from signing up as a donor is that “they won’t work as hard to save you.” What is the truth behind this fear?

 Ask the Experts:
Dr. David Jacobs, Trauma Surgeon

Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC

 The Three Rivers’ episode Place of Life gives me an opportunity to talk about the very prevalent myth that “if I’m an organ donor, they won’t work as hard to save me.” 

 As a trauma surgeon at Carolinas Medical Center I work tirelessly to save lives every day.   When I am working on a patient I am interested in only one thing: keeping them alive and getting them back to their family and friends. 

 But I know that a lot of people refuse to put a donor indication on their driver’s license. They fear that if they are a donor, then doctors like me will let them die in order to save the life of someone who is waiting for an organ.

 Here’s why that can’t be true:

1. You can’t let a patient cardiac arrest and expect they can be an organ donor. This is because of brain death, which will be explained in great detail next week. 
2. Organ donors have to be on a ventilator and have stabilized blood pressure, which is what you do to save someone’s life. 
3. EMT’s and the medical team at the hospital are completely separate from the transplant teams. We don’t know who is on the transplant list and have no authority to place organs for transplant.
4. No hospital has access to the state donor registry and we can’t confirm your donor status, that is done by a non-profit organ procurement organization or OPO.
5. The OPO is called by the hospital only after lifesaving efforts have been made.  I don’t want to have to make that call, because I want to save your life.  But sometimes that’s just not possible so then we call the OPO so they can confirm if you are listed on your state’s registry and talk to your family about donation.
6. The OPO often runs additional tests to confirm brain death and will work with your family to answer all their questions.

 Here’s the bottom line: Your commitment to donation will not interfere with your medical care.  Organ, eye and tissue donation becomes an option only after lifesaving efforts have been made, consent for donation is confirmed and your family is asked to participate in the process by providing your medical history.

I wanted to share a few bits of info with you as we get ready to watch the premiere of the new CBS drama Three Rivers.

• Donation and transplantation is often dramatized in TV and Film and rarely do they provide accurate information.
• CBS has worked  very hard to make sure the show presents the information is an accurate format.
• Carol Barbee, the show’s executive producer, was inspired by the real-life story of a transplant coordinator and she also sits on the board of Donate Life Hollywood. (DLH – a national campaign to see more accurate and inspiring donation/transplant storylines on television and film.)
• CBS is making great efforts to share the Donate Life message with viewers. They have recorded a CBS Cares, public service announcement, with Alex O’Laughlin (lead actor in the show).
• The show will still dramatize donation and transplantation, but they are working to get it right.
• Americans will have an opportunity to see the real-life emotions behind donation and transplantation.
• People are dying every day because not enough organs are available for transplant.
• This is a public health crisis we all can solve by making and registering our decision to donate.
• Our hope is that Hoosiers will be motivated to register their decision to be an organ and tissue donor.
• You can register at the BMV when you renew or obtain your driver license or ID and online at www.donatelifeindiana.org

Post by,

Joni Rosebrock

IOPO, Community Relations Manager