Community Hospital
Resource Guide
A Vital Guide for Hospital Senior Leaders to Develop Impactful Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Practices
Table of Contents
A Community Hospital Resource Guide
Disclaimers for Community Resource Toolbox, the Community Hospital Resource Guide and Transplant Quality Resources Guide
For linking to the Community Resource Toolbox, the Community Hospital Resource Guide and Transplant Quality Resources Guide and Tools, please use the following disclaimers:
Community Resource Toolbox Disclaimer:
The Community Resource Toolbox includes a variety of resources created, collected, and/or compiled by the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. (Insert name of your organization) is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the Alliance and claims no ownership in any of the Community Resource Toolbox materials. By clicking this link, you will be directed to the Alliance’s website located at https://www.organdonationalliance.org//resources/toolbox/.
Please use the Alliance logo on your website. Link here to locate and download a version of the logo that best suits your site:
Transplant Resource Guide (TRG) Disclaimer:
The Transplant Resource Guide (TRG) includes a variety of resources created, collected, and/or compiled by the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. (Insert name of your organization) is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the Alliance and claims no ownership in any of the Transplant Resource Guide (TRG) materials. By clicking this link, you will be directed to the Alliance’s website located at https://www.organdonationalliance.org/resources/transplant-resource-guide/.
Please use the Alliance logo on your website. Link here to locate and download a version of the logo that best suits your site:
Community Hospital Resource Guide Disclaimer:
The Community Hospital Resource Guide includes a variety of resources created, collected, and/or compiled by the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. (Insert name of your organization) is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the Alliance and claims no ownership in any of the Community Hospital Resource Guide materials. By clicking this link, you will be directed to the Alliance’s website located at https://www.organdonationalliance.org/resources/community-hospital-resource-guide/.
Please use the Alliance logo on your website. Link here to locate and download a version of the logo that best suits your site:
The Alliance Resource Section
Essential 1
Serving the Community
This essential begins with fact finding questions the hospital’s CEO may ask their senior leadership and is followed by a brief outline of model elements for serving the community. Click on the included links for additional in-depth information, details, and guidance.
Fact Finding Questions CEOs May Ask of Their Senior Leadership:
- Who is our Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) liaison?
- Who is our eye and tissue bank liaison?
- Do we have an Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Committee (Donation Council)?
- What has our team done to raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation?
- Do we collaborate with our OPO to arrange regular educational opportunities, including in-services, grand rounds, new nursing orientation, general staff orientation, skill labs, etc.?
- Is our team familiar with the organ, eye and tissue donation standards of our hospital accrediting organization(s)?
Model Elements for Serving the Community
Detailed Components of Serving the Community
- Identify the donation and transplantation representation within the community your hospital serves: (Your local OPO can help you locate all of these numbers. (Identify your local OPO)
- Number of registered donors (Identify your state’s donor registry)
- Number of people waiting for organ transplants
- Number of lives saved and enhanced by local donors (organ/tissue/eye)
- Number of local recipients of organs
- To view national, regional, and state’s data regarding the number of recipients awaiting a lifesaving transplant, organ donors, and the number of transplants performed, visit OPTN Data Reports.
- Information about tissue donors and recipients in your area can be obtained from your local OPO, eye and/or tissue program.
- Seek out opportunities for press/media coverage of donation and transplant activity in the local area. For example, a staff member or patient waiting for a transplant, a transplant recipient or a donor family.
- Participate in the HRSA Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) program and be recognized among your peers.
- Celebrate organ, eye, and tissue donation by hosting community events and drives (e.g. during National Donate Life Month in April). You can educate your hospital staff and the people your hospital serves by celebrating organ, eye and tissue donation. Partner with your local OPO to take part in local community events to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation, along with honoring donor families and transplant recipients.
Celebrate with Your Community!
You can celebrate organ, eye and tissue donation with your community by collaborating with your local OPO to reach out to the public by hosting and taking part in events, exhibits, and presentations in the communities you serve. Below is a list of national dates and events that you can celebrate with your community.
National Donor Day is a time to focus on all types of donation – organ, eye, tissue, blood, platelets and marrow – by taking part in blood/marrow drives or donor registration events. It is also a day to recognize our loved ones who have given the gift of donation, have received a donation, are currently waiting or did not receive an organ in time.
National Donate Life Month (NDLM) features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation. Fly a Donate Life flag. (Flags available for purchase at www.donationmerchandise.com/flags) A digital version of the flag can be found at DonateLife.net/hospitals.
On National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, the public is encouraged to wear blue and green, hold events and fundraisers, and partner with local restaurants, malls, media, and community organizations to spread awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation.
- National Donate Life Registry
- The Joint Commission: “Health Care at the Cross Roads: Strategies forNarrowing the Organ Donation Gap and Protecting Patients”
- The Alliance Organ Donation Toolbox: Donor Recognition and Memorial Events
Recognize the Needs of Your Community
There are approximately 120,000 people awaiting a lifesaving organ transplant throughout the United States. Odds are that some of those waiting are in your community and have received care within your facility. Understanding the needs of your community can help you determine where to focus your efforts.
By collaborating with your local OPO, eye and tissue bank(s), you will have a better understanding of how many people are awaiting lifesaving organs in your community, how many recipients of organs/tissue/eyes live in your community, the percentage of registered donors that reside in your community, how donated tissues are being utilized in your community, and if there have been any organ, eye and tissue donors from your community. The links listed below can provide state by state information, however your local OPO can provide data that is specific to your community.
- To find contact information for your local OPO please follow this link – https://www.organdonor.gov/awareness/organizations/local-opo.html
- To view your state’s data about the number of recipients awaiting a lifesaving transplant, organ donors, and the number of transplants performed, follow the link below – https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/state-data/
- State donor registry rates can be found on page 16 of the Donate Life Annual Report at https://www.donatelife.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DLA_AnnualReport_2016-low-res.pdf
- Information about eye and tissue donors and recipients in your area may be obtained from your local OPO or tissue and eye agency.
Educate Your Community by Educating Your Employees
Make a commitment to educate your employees and customers on the critical importance of organ, tissue, and eye donation and provide opportunities for people to register as donors. Listed below are several initiatives that are available to spread the word about the importance of donation and to create opportunities for increasing donor registry rates.
Workplace Partnership for Life Campaign
The American Hospital Association has signed on as a partner to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Workplace for Life Partnership (WPFL) campaign. WPFL is a national initiative that unites the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the organ donation community with workplaces throughout the nation to spread the word about the importance of donation. Workplace partners create and share innovative donation awareness programs, tailored to their companies or organizations.
To learn more about how your organization can become a Workplace Partnership for Life visit https://www.organdonor.gov/awareness/workplace/partners
Hospital Donation Campaign
Hospitals of any size can join this initiative to save lives by increasing donor registrations. More than 1,200 hospitals nationwide received recognition from HRSA’s Division of Transplantation in 2018 for their work to promote organ, eye, and tissue donation within their hospitals. Hospitals keep an activity scorecard for each donation education event within the hospital, as well as community engagement and events.
- Learn more about how your organization can enroll in the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Organ Donation Campaign.
Below are some additional methods you can utilize to educate your internal and external audiences on the critical importance of organ, eye and tissue eye donation:
- Update your hospital intranet, website, closed-circuit TV, and/or email signatures to include a pro-donation web banner or message and link to your state donor registry (or www.DonateLife.net).
- Web banners and messaging are available for download from Donate Life America
- Follow Donate Life America on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and share donation stories on your hospital social media sites and with your online community.
- Donation stories are available at Donate Life Stories of Hope
- You can also follow your local OPO on social media to share local events, stories and testimonials
- Work with your OPO to include donation message points in your employee newsletter.
- Collaborate with your OPO to fly a Donate Life flag during National Donate Life Month in April and host a flag raising ceremony or reception.
- Invite a donor family and/or transplant recipient to a general staff or medical meeting during
- National Donate Life Month to share their story.
- Invite your OPO, eye and/or tissue bank to take part in hospital-sponsored events such as blood and bone marrow drives, health fairs and annual heart walks to educate the community on donation.
- Invite the OPO, eye and/or tissue bank to take part in ongoing education of hospital staff such as regular in-services, new nursing orientation, physician education, general staff orientation, grand rounds and skills labs.
- Invite the OPO, eye and/or tissue bank to present at executive level meetings.
- Commitment of Leadership
- Champion for the Cause Appointed / Supported
- Culture of Priority for Organ Donation Created
- Collaborative Effort with OPO Established
- Communicate Organ Donation Opportunities Rapidly to OPO (within 1 hour)
- Check Progress Through Dashboard
- Conversion Rate Monitored & Improved (Goal: 75%)
- Counsel Potential Donor Families Effectively to Increase Consent
- Clarify Policies & Procedures with Staff
- Criteria Established for OCO
