Utahns are saying yes to organ donations, especially at University Hospital.
Positive attitudes toward organ donations among hospital staff have inspired more families to say yes, making it one of the top organ donation centers in the country.
U Hospital was ranked number seven out of the nation’s 200 largest hospitals for organ donations.
The rankings, announced June 1, are determined by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. The rankings are part of a national effort encouraged by the federal government to increase the number of organ donations.
Each hospital was ranked according to the percentage of eligible donors who actually donated. LDS Hospital also placed high in the survey, at number 21.
Kim Phillips, U transplant program nurse manager, and Debby Ott, Lions Eye Bank education and family services coordinator, both agree the high percentage of donations is due to the strong support Utahns have for organ donations.
According to Phillips, U Hospital’s A grade for being in the top seven with 90 percent of eligible patients donating is due to the staff’s positive attitude toward donations.
“This issue is raised with every employee. Every employee knows the importance of donations,” Phillips said.
Not every nurse or physician can identify a potential donor. Only 2 percent of deceased patients can donate internal organs, but 98 percent can donate tissue and eyes. Educating hospital staff on patient eligibility is essential, Ott said.
Once a potential donor is identified, the issue must be discussed with the family. Because of the importance and sensitivity of the request, by law only a specially- trained professional can approach the family.
Phillips guesses some institutions may be afraid of making such a request so soon after the family has lost its loved one. They’re skeptical and feel like it’s asking too much from the families.
But employees at the hospital understand the true benefit of organ donations, Phillips said. They are supportive and positive with the patients’ families. Many families later say the donation was the only positive aspect of their tragic experience.
“It’s an accepted, very well supported concept at the university on all levels,” Phillips said.
This is due in large part to education, Ott said. The staff is not only educated about patient eligibility, but on how to assess the emotional state of the families.
Ott also says Utah’s population is so supportive of organ donations because of education. Recently, more than one million Utahns registered themselves as organ donors.
The Utah organ donor registry has and will make a big difference with donations in the state, agreed Phillips and Ott.
In the past, carrying a donor card identified a willingness to donate, but the decision was still left to the family. Now, once a person has been registered, it is legally binding request, similar to a will.