1. Saving Lives Through Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation
EDUC8 TO DON8
Saving Lives Through Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation
Click on the Donate L logo to play HRSA video

2. ABOUT NEVADA DONOR NETWORK
Federally designated, 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit
Organ Procurement Organization (OPO)
Coordinate, recover, and distribute donated organs and tissues for transplantation, education, and medical research
Educate the public about donation and the importance of registration

3. WHY MIGHT SOMEONE NEED A TRANSPLANT?
The body’s organs or tissues can be:
Formed abnormally at birth
Damaged as a result of accidental injury or disease
Certain conditions, like kidney disease and heart conditions can hereditary conditions present at birth and lead to the need for an organ transplant. Other times, people need a transplant after being injured or developing a disease that harms their organs.
TRANSPLANT MAY BE NECESSARY TO SURVIVE

4. When a TRANSPLANT IS NEEDED
Patient placed on waiting list
Time on waiting list:
Blood type, medical urgency, organ size
Visit transplant center for evaluation
Living donation
Transplant is a specialty just like other areas of medicine so your doctor would refer you to a transplant center for evaluation. We only have one transplant center in Nevada (UMC) and they only perform kidney transplants. That means anyone needing a different organ will have to go out of state for the transplant. BUT you can still donate everything here.
If the patient is a good candidate for transplant, they will be placed on the national waiting list. Getting on the waiting list can be hard. You have to be sick enough that you desperately need the organ to survive but must be healthy enough to survive the major surgery.
How long someone waits for a transplant depends on several factors. One if BLOOOD TYPE, which must be compatible between the donor and recipient – MEDICAL URGENCY , the sicker a person is the higher they are on the waiting list BUT all other factors matter so a less sick person may get the first organ based on medical compatibility – ORGAN SIZE – donated organ should be similar in size to patient's current organ. Must fit in the space (example a 6’3” man’s heart won’t fit in the small chest cavity of a 5’3” woman AND a smaller person’s heart won’t be large and strong enough to pump blood through the body of a much larger person)
Patient may also have a friend or family member who can be a living donor – kidneys are most common for living donation

5. Based on data from Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network
national Waiting List
Total: 121,407
(2/16/16)
Kidney
100,525
Liver
14,786
Heart
4,168
Kidney/Pancreas
1,961
Lung
1,485
Pancreas
1,049
Small Intestine
279
Heart/Lung 47
In Nevada,
about 559 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant
(1/31/16))
Based on data from Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network

6. 22 Americans die every day waiting for a life-saving organ
What does 121,000 look like?
More than 3x the capacity of Sam Boyd Stadium, which holds 36,000…
22 Americans die every day
waiting for a life-saving organ

7. One organ donor can save up to 8 lives
A DONOR Hero's IMPACT
One organ donor can save up to 8 lives
Heart
Lungs
Liver
Kidneys
Pancreas
Intestine
There are 6 organs we can donate – so how can 1 person save 8 people? (ANSWER) The kidneys and lungs can be split. We are born with 2 kidneys but only need one to survive so in most cases only one is transplanted. Lungs aren’t always split but they can be – that depends on what the recipient needs.

8. One tissue donor can heal 50 or more people
A DONOR Hero’S IMPACT
One tissue donor can heal 50 or more people
Corneas
Skin
Bone & Cartilage
Heart Valves
Blood Vessels
Tendons & Ligaments
Corneas – can restore vision to someone suffering from corneal blindness
Bone – can be used in dental surgeries, spinal fusion surgeries
Skin – can be used to treat burn victims, in reconstructive surgeries such as a mastectomy
Tendons & Ligaments – often used to repair common sports injuries like torn ACL or MCL

9. What is Brain Death? WHO CAN DONATE? Brain death is not a coma
Often caused by:
Severe injury to the head that causes brain trauma
Lack of oxygen to the brain
Medication or drug overdose
Anyone… almost everyone can donate something
Never rule yourself out because of age or medical conditions
Every potential donor is evaluated to determine eligibility
Brain death is not a coma
Complete, irreversible loss of all brain function
Most organ donors die from brain death. (Read definition) Doctors do a number of different exams to test for brain death. They start with simple tests like shining a light in a patient’s eye and checking the patient’s reflexes. One of the final tests is a scan of the brain (seen here) you can see all the wavy lines on the left – those show normal blood flow to the brain and normal brain function. On the right is a brain dead patient – you can see there is no activity.
Normal Blood Flow
Brain Dead

10. When life-saving efforts have been unsuccessful WHO CAN DONATE?
Anyone… almost everyone can donate something
Never rule yourself out because of age or medical conditions
Every potential donor is evaluated to determine eligibility
Nevada Donor Network staff searches donor registry
REGISTERED: Work with family to honor donor’s wishes
NOT REGISTERED: Talk with family about donation opportunity
Donation can only proceed after death has been declared
Hospital notifies Nevada Donor Network
When doctors have done everything possible and someone’s life cannot be saved – that’s when the hospital will notify the donation agency of a potential donor. Donation will only proceed after death has been declared. First step is for a Nevada Donor Network coordinator to find out if the person was a registered donor. They will look up the person’s name in an electronic database. If the person’s name is in the database that means they are a registered donor. When that happens Nevada Donor Network will work with a family to honor the donor’s wishes. If the person is not registered, Nevada Donor Network will talk with the patient’s family about donation. This is a decision we want everyone to make for themselves. Families grieving a tragic loss have enough stress and we don’t want them to be burdened with the decision about donation. We also encourage everyone to make their wishes known to their family – we don’t want a family to be shocked when they learn their loved one was a registered donor.

11. MYTHS AND
MISCONCEPTIONS

12. MYTH: “Doctors won’t save my life if they know I’m a donor.” FACT:
A doctor’s primary focus is to save your life.
The doctors and nurses involved with the transplant are not the same people who care for the patient during life.
A doctor’s focus is to save your life. Doctors and nurses want to save their patients’ lives – that’s why they get into medicine. The team who treats a patients in an ER or other hospital setting has nothing to do with the transplant process. As we mentioned earlier, transplant is a specialty and the doctors treating a patient after a car accident or other trauma are not trained for organ transplantation.

13. “I don’t want my family to have extra expenses.”
MYTH:
“I don’t want my family to have extra expenses.”
FACT:
There is no cost to the donor’s family for organ, eye and tissue donation.
It’s important to know that a family should NEVER be charged for any costs related to donation. If a bill is sent to a family for these costs it is a billing ERROR by the hospital and Nevada Donor Network will help the family get it cleared up.

14. “Some people don’t qualify to donate based on age or medical history.”
MYTH:
“Some people don’t qualify to donate based on age or medical history.”
FACT:
Every donor is evaluated on an individual basis at the time of their death.
No one should ever decide not to register as a donor because of their age or medical conditions. Someone with diabetes may not be able to donate their pancreas, but their other organs may be very healthy. Every person is evaluated at the time of death to determine medical suitability for transplantation.

15. “I won’t be able to have an open casket funeral if I donate.”
MYTH:
“I won’t be able to have an open casket funeral if I donate.”
FACT:
The body is treated with respect and dignity throughout the process. Every effort will be made to minimize changes to the physical appearance.
The body is treated with respect and dignity throughout the process. Organs are recovered in an operating room and the procedure is just like a surgery – wounds are closed just like any living person having surgery. In the case of tissue recovery, Nevada Donor Network staff will make every effort to minimize physical changes.

16. WHO CAN REGISTER TO BE A DONOR HERO?
Simple… Anyone!
Every potential donor is evaluated on an individual basis to determine medical suitability.

17. Make Your Wishes Known! www.nvdonor.org
No matter what, be sure to share your wishes with your family and friends!

18. Stay Connected! #DonateLife