| Pictured left Patricia Tellman, Communications Director of the Transplant Resource Center of Maryland (TRC), pediatric organ recipient and Debbi McRann, Program Coordinator, Organ and Tissue Donation for the Johns Hopkins Hospital attending the First Annual Organ Donation National Learning Congress in May 2005. Over 2,000 members of the organ donation community convened at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsored congress to quicken the spread of "Breakthrough Practices" to 950 hospitals |
In April, 2003, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson joined with key national leaders and practitioners from the nation’s transplantation, hospital, and medical communities to launch the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative. The purpose of this initiative: to dramatically increase access to transplantable organs.
Having recently completed its second phase, the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative was created to bring hospitals with the most donor potential and their Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO’s) ‘to the table’ to create mutually agreed upon plans and procedures to improve the organ donation process. These plans are modeled after best practices exhibited across the nation by top performing hospitals and OPO’s. This Collaborative will help OPO’s and their partner hospitals to rapidly close the gap between what is known to generate high donation rates and the "average" performance of the current organ donation system. It is expected that participating teams will achieve significantly higher organ donation rates thus, saving more lives.
This national initiative is seeing marked improvement in organ donation locally in Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (JHBMC) were recognized by HHS for participation in the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative and implementation of programs to promote an increase in the number of potential donors that become actual donors.
"Among the main reasons for the dramatic increase in donation at JHH/JHBMC is the holistic approach of providing high level family support to those families who are coping with the death of a family member or friend," said Charlie Alexander, Chief Executive Officer for the Transplant Resource Center of Maryland (TRC). "TRC saw this national initiative as an opportunity to collaborate with our hospital partners and learn from best practices at the nation’s top performing donation hospitals," he said.
In Phase I of the Collaborative, 96 hospitals nationwide participated. TRC engaged four local hospitals in this effort - The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and University of Maryland Medical Center. Phase II included St. Agnes Hospital and Washington County Hospital.
"There is now an increased awareness among all participating hospitals regarding organ and tissue donation which should continue to result in increased donation rates in the months ahead. There are exciting initiatives in place to make the donation process more efficient," said Patricia Tellmann, Director of Communications for TRC. "For example, JHBMC has initiated steps to develop a Multi-Disciplinary Donor Council which would evaluate each donor case for process improvement opportunities and solidification of efficient processes."
"Additionally, JHH has seen an increase in the number of organ donors by 13% from 2003-2004. We are seeing this kind of success with our hospitals due to improved communication, recognition of donation as a medical option, and a shared goal for increased transplants," said Debbi McRann, Program Coordinator for Organ and Tissue Donation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative’s goal is to increase organ donations annually by 1,900 and to increase the number of transplants by 6,000. In 2004 there were more than 20,000 transplants from 7,000 deceased donors. This is an increase of 11% from 2003, the largest increase in 10 years.
"Our job is to save lives. Our dedicated staff pursues this goal with compassionate competence because we believe we are accountable to each and every person waiting desperately for an organ transplant in Maryland," said Mr. Alexander.
-Patricia Tellmann
The Transplant Resource Center of Maryland is the not-for-profit health service provider of organs and tissues to citizens of Maryland. TRC facilitates the donation and recovery of human organs and tissues for transplantation and research. TRC provides advocacy, family support, and comprehensive public and professional education, and is committed to organizational excellence to enhance the organ, tissue, and distribution processes. There are currently 2,380 people waiting for a vital organ transplant in Maryland. Nationally, that number exceeds 89,000. Every ninety minutes an American dies while waiting for that second chance at life. Make a decision and share it with your family, Donate Life! For more information, contact the Transplant Resource Center of Maryland at 800-641-4376, or visit its website at www.mdtransplant.org |
