The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance makes it a priority to ask families of a deceased patient about organ and tissue donation and has been successful with every request during the last year.
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The hospital group’s outstanding efforts to integrate organ and tissue donation into quality end-of-life-care has been recognized again by Ontario Health’s Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), stated a CKHA media release.
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The CKHA is the recipient of two awards from the TGLN, the provincial eligible-approach rate award and the provincial conversion rate award, which recognize lifesaving organ and tissue donation within the hospital.
The provincial eligible-approach rate award is for exceeding the provincial approach rate target of 90 per cent; CKHA’s rate was 100 per cent.
The eligible approach rate measures the number of families approached to discuss the potential of organ donation for their loved ones against the total number of cases where donation was a possibility, and a family could have been approached, the health alliance said.
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The provincial conversion rate award is for exceeding the provincial rate of 63 per cent of potential organ donors becoming actual donors and this year CKHA achieved a rate of 100 per cent, the release said.
During the last year, the CKHA supported one organ donor that led to two organs donated for transplant that saved two lives, the health alliance said. There were also 20 tissue donors, enhancing the lives of many others.
This is the fifth year in a row the CKHA has received an award from the TGLN.
“CKHA has made an outstanding contribution to organ and tissue donation in Ontario and we are proud to partner with their exemplary team of health care professionals throughout the year to continue this vital work,” said Rebecca Cooper, vice-president of Ontario Renal Network and Trillium Gift of Life Network at Ontario Health, in the release.
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Lori Marshall, CEO and president of CKHA, said she could not be proud.
“These achievements are a reflection of the best practices put in place that continue to support our commitment to organ and tissue donation,” she said.
“I want to congratulate our organ donation committee, staff and physicians for this significant achievement and recognize their dedication to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation,” Marshall added.
Today, nearly 1,400 Ontarians are in need of a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are in need of life-restoring tissue transplants, the release said. Tragically, every three days someone will die waiting for an organ, while those awaiting valuable tissue will continue to experience a lower quality of life.
“By ensuring that the wishes of donors are realized, we honor their selflessness and the legacy they intend to leave behind,” said Cooper.
More information about organ and tissue donation in Ontario, is available at www.beadonor.ca.
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