Before nurses think about their role in organ donation, they must understand that there are over 110,000 people in the United States waiting for an organ transplant. Every year, over 5,000 people die because of not getting the organ that they need. So, it’s quite obvious that there are not a sufficient amount of organs available in the country. The best way for hospital staff to combat this important issue is to maximize the number of organs recovered from the consented donors. But, what is a nurse’s role in organ donation?

Understanding the Brain Death and the Chances of Organ Donation:

To start with, nurses should understand that a single organ donor can save up to 8 lives. This number is not less significant. Each day, about 18 people die because they are waiting for an organ transplant. In only <1% of all deaths, there is an option of organ donation and hence, the balance between the requirement and availability is no way possible to achieve. The only option that is left is the possibility of organ death in the cases of brain death, which is defined as the irreversible cessation of the brain. The condition of brain death could occur in a patient due to the events like head injury, anoxia, accidents, aneurysm, and so on. In the patients with brain death, there will be no reflexes, seizures, and breathing.

If the organ donation is carried out in such patients, up to eight lives can be saved. Here, the organ donation will signify the process of giving one or more organs to be transplanted to other patients in need. As such, the deceased organ donors can provide the following types of organs to other people:

• Kidney
• Pancreas
• Liver
• Lungs
• Heart
• Intestines

On the other hand, the living donors can provide the following organs:

• A kidney
• Part of the liver, lungs, or intestine
• Eyes
• Tissues

Role of Nurses in Organ Donation:

Hearing the Demand:

The roles in organ donation would vary between the different types of nurses. As such, the nurses who work on normal medical floors in the hospitals might never meet a patient who donates his/her organs. In other situations, she or he will happen to meet a patient or a family of a patient asking about the feasibility of organ donation. In such, the role of the nurse is to inform the transplant team in the hospital. Almost every large hospital would have a dedicated unit for transplantation.

Caring the Transplant Recipient:

On the other hand, if the nurse is working on the transplantation unit, she or he will have to prepare the patients for transplant surgery and provide care for them in their post-surgery recovery. Also, when a patient is waiting for a transplant, he/she will be put under intensive care, where, he/she will be cared by the nurses. In such cases, the nurses will act as a bridging stone between the patient and the transplant doctors. Here, their role does not end with coordinating the care by ensuring that the patient is getting the treatments properly, but they also have an important role in educating the patient about the process. She is also expected to provide emotional support to these patients.

Being a part of Procurement:

In addition, the nurses working in the transplant team will have some role in procurement too. For this, the nurses should know how to identify the potential donor by making themselves familiar with their organization’s criteria for clinical triggers. Then, they must try to initiate contact with the family members of the potential donor. While doing so, nurses must be able to support the donor’s family throughout the organ donation process.

For this, they must arrange for a private area for discussing the issues with the family. Then, they should clarify with the family about the condition of the potential donor and why they should consent to the organ donation process. The role of the nurse in these cases would continue throughout the organ recovery process by reinforcing the explanation to the family members.

The nurse should also let the family know what options are available for the organ/tissue donation and how the donation will impact the burial/cremation. Any nurse, who is working in this respect, should clearly understand the organ retrieval laws of the state and the policies and procedures regarding the process.

Coordinating the Whole Process:

The role of the nurses will continue in the coordination process, too. In this line, nurses should coordinate the timing of the transplant and assist the transplant physicians with the surgical removal of the organs. The nurses must also ensure that the recovered organs are safely transported to the recipient’s place with the needed viability. Then, the nurses in the recipient’s place will coordinate the surgical process of transplanting the organ into the receiving patient.

So, nurses actually play a huge role in the care of entire organ donation process. As a nurse, each and everyone should consider these aspects when at the same time performing their other duties.