Tissue Donation Education?

Whoa.......I'd not be too eager to get involved in this situation yet. Most basic nursing programs will skim over the topic, but you need extensive training by an area OPO (Organ Procurement Organization) to be a requested donor.

Just be careful. There are serious legal ramifications for approaching families and you could get sued. I know. I approached a family for tissue donation and they ended up suing me 2 years later. The lawsuit continues and has been stressful on my family. Not only do you get sued, your license will be investigated by your State Board of Nursing. And you won't find it easy getting your own personal malpractice insurance again. Just be careful and think about pursuing this topic. I know what I am talking about.

Wow, stlnurse, that's some experience.

cdy8_99- I'm not sure how involved your question is, maybe you're just asking what happens when your patient dies- what are your responsiblities in the process? We call the regional organ donation organization (http://www.organdonor.gov/links_organprocure_org.html) and give them the info about the pt, in many cases they disqualify the person over the phone due to age or other factors. If they are interested in the pt they will send a representative to the hospital to meet with the family and healthcare team and to coordinate the harvesting and receiving surgeons. Does that help you?

Also our initial assessment forms do ask about organ donation in the nursing history but we simply ask if they have an organ donor card or not and move on. I actually tend to gloss over that question since my inpatient work is usually peds.

Thank you for viewing my thread first of all. I am in an RN nursing program. I am in my final year and have not had any discussion on organ & tissue donation, how to approach families on the issue etc. I don't even know what happens when someone consents to donation! I would like to know the process. I am wondering if it is routine for this education to take place later on or should it be done during my program? Opinions or thoughts? and I would welcome others experiences... how were all of you taught about this and when? Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Per my facilities policy..... we make the initial call to the Transplant network people when we have an impending or unexpected death. We give them patient hx and hospital course description. They make the determination if donation is even possible. If it's possible, they have someone contact the family. We are in no way to approach them about it.

Now, if the family asks about it, we can talk limitedly (is this a word?) about it and refer them to chaplin or social services.

I guess I am wondering if any of you received any overviews of the process in nursing school? Perhaps not to the point of being able to approach the family, but maybe a lecture on the topic at all while in school?

Thanks!!!

I guess I am wondering if any of you received any overviews of the process in nursing school? Perhaps not to the point of being able to approach the family, but maybe a lecture on the topic at all while in school?

Thanks!!!

We had a short lecture about it. They talked a bit about the process - who pays for it, patient care issues, etc. They also say a trained person is to approach the family, not the nursing staff.