Issuu

QUARTER 1 • 2024

DONATION

Connection A newsletter for our frontline partners

In This Issue MTN Updates Preparing for National Donate Life Month......2 Register Now for Donate Life Legacy Walk......2 Maximizing the Gift of Life.......................................3

Funeral Home & Medical Examiner Partners Out-of-Hospital Deaths.................................................3

Hospital Partners

Radio Programming About Donation on Feb. 14

ave the date for Wednesday, Feb. 14, to hear Songs From the Heart, Midwest Transplant Network’s (MTN’s) annual partnership with Kansas City-based public radio station The Bridge. The program will run between 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., featuring stories about individuals and families impacted by organ, eye and tissue donation. These touching interviews will inspire hope on National Donor Day, which is celebrated each year on Feb. 14. Listen in the Kansas City area on 90.9 FM or from anywhere online at bridge909.org.

Clinical Triggers ICU/ED/OR Corner................... 4 Updated Brain Death Testing Guidelines......... 5 Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit Outcomes and Updates ............................................... 5 By the Numbers................................................................ 5 It’s That Time of Year Again — Mortality Data................................................................... 5

Licensing, Treasury and Department of Revenue Partners National Donate Life Month Plans and Spirit Week.......................................................................... 6 Call for Community Events and Outreach Opportunities.............................................. 6 Message of Hope Receives Donate Life America Pinnacle Award..............................................7

Local Connections to Rose Parade®

TN once again co-sponsored a float in the Rose Parade on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California. Each year, MTN honors a local donor hero via the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float, which features floragraphs — portraits made entirely of organic materials — of organ, eye and tissue donors. MTN’s 2024 honoree was 14-year-old Jayme Sue Louque from Olathe, Kansas, who donated her organs, eyes and tissues after passing away in 2021. Jayme Sue’s parents, Wendy and Bryan Louque, and other members of their family traveled to Pasadena to put the finishing touches on the float and attend the parade.

Wendy and Bryan Louque completed the floragraph honoring their daughter Jayme Sue during MTN’s floragraph finishing event on Nov. 21, 2023.

Preparing for National Donate Life Month

ational Donate Life Month (NDLM) is just around the corner. Observed in April each year, NDLM helps raise awareness about donation, encourage people to join the donor registry, and honor those who have saved and enhanced lives through the gift of donation. We look forward to celebrating this April with our professional and community partners; donor families; volunteer Ambassadors; staff members and beyond. Hospital partners: We will offer a webinar highlighting NDLM assets again this year for hospital public relations, communications and marketing staff members. We hope to see you there! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to start planning NDLM activities. Contact your Hospital Services Coordinator for more information. Register for one of MTN’s NDLM webinars: mwtn.org/ndlm-webinar

egistration for our eighth-annual Donate Life Legacy Walk is open! We hope you will join us on Saturday, June 1, for an evening of family fun, including tributes to those impacted by donation, live music, food trucks, lawn games and more. This free community event celebrates the gift of life while raising awareness about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. Register today: mwtn.org/legacy-walk

2 • Learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation at mwtn.org

Out-of-Hospital Deaths

ut-of-hospital death referrals can be called in by coroners’ offices, EMTs, police departments, fire departments, hospice facilities, nursing homes and funeral homes. MTN wants to ensure families have the opportunity to make the donation decision. If a family mentions donation, we recommend you respond with something like: “Tissue and eye donation may be an opportunity for your family. I will contact Midwest Transplant Network, the state’s donation agency, and they will call you with more information and answers to your questions.” Information needed when making a donor referral: • Funeral home information • Decedent’s name, date of birth, date of death, age and gender

Maximizing the Gift of Life

ith your support, Midwest Transplant Network continued saving and enhancing more lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in 2023. From asking donation-related questions for the First Person Authorization registry to sharing timely patient referrals to showing care and respect for donors after they gave the gift of life, you play a crucial role in honoring legacies. Thank you for your partnership!

• Time of death and/or last time seen alive • Circumstances surrounding the death • Any known past medical history • Will there be an autopsy? If so, when, and where? • Legal next of kin name, relationship and phone number After you make the referral at 1-800-366-6791, an MTN coordinator will approach the family about donation if the patient is determined to be an eligible donor.

A newsletter for Midwest Transplant Network's frontline partners • 3

Hospital Partner Education About this newsletter

Clinical Triggers ICU/ED/OR Corner

his insert is intended for clinical staff and not for the general public. Please post in a highly visible clinical area such as a break room.

Clinical Triggers for Potential Organ Donor Referrals

The potential for organ donation is only possible in ICU and ED settings with your help. It is important to recognize the clinical triggers that necessitate a call to MTN. Please call MTN at 1-800-DONOR91 (1-800-366-6791) within 60 minutes (per your hospital policy) if your patient meets the following criteria. All mechanically ventilated patients with: • A GCS < 5, regardless of sedation, paralytics, hypothermia OR • Neurologic injury or devastating injury OR • A shift toward comfort or palliative care decisions is anticipated.

Clinical Updates for Current or New Organ Donor Referrals Please call immediately if ANY of the following occur (either before or after initial referral call): • The care team/family anticipates end-of-life care (including advanced notice of plans to meet with family to discuss end-of-life options), • The patient’s neuro reflexes are absent, • The care team plans for brain death testing or • A family member initiates a donation discussion. You can also find this information on MTN’s clinical trigger badge card.

@MWTransplant Midwest Transplant Network

Need a badge card? Please email info@mwtn.org or contact your Hospital Services Coordinator (HSC).

4 • Learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation at mwtn.org

Updated Brain Death Testing Guidelines

By the Numbers

Total Organs Transplanted Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2023

ew guidance has been issued for clinicians in pronouncing brain death, also known as death by neurological criteria. These guidelines were published with the following press release statement released Oct. 11, 2023:

107 hearts

“New guidance has been issued for clinicians on the determination of brain death, also known as death by neurologic criteria. A new consensus practice guideline was developed through a collaboration between the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Child Neurology Society (CNS), and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.”

148 lungs 218 livers 22 pancreata

MTN is currently evaluating how these new guidelines will be put into practice, and we invite you to review your hospital’s brain death policies alongside these new guidelines.

488 kidneys

Learn more about the consensus practice guideline: mwtn.org/bd-guideline

5 intestines

Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit Outcomes and Updates

023 marks our first full year of caring for donors at the MTN Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU).

After extensive education, planning and collaboration, our hospital partnerships allowed for the following DCU outcomes in 2023: • 114 patients transferred to the DCU • 364 lifesaving transplants made possible by donor heroes in the DCU • The average length of stay in MTN’s DCU was 48 hours, 47 minutes • The age range of donor heroes in the DCU was 17 to 81 years old • Donor outcomes continue to exceed expectations Our MTN clinical team continues to advance in skills, proficiency and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies in the DCU. We are honored to provide advanced donor care at our state-of-the-art DCU facility and continue the excellent care patients received in their original hospital. Many thanks to our hospital partners; the work you do and our continued partnership help us save more lives together.

It’s That Time of Year Again — Mortality Data

ow that the new year is here, it is time for annual donation performance reports. Please send your hospital’s mortality data for Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023, by Feb. 9, via secure email or fax to your HSC. If you need assistance with a secure email or if you’re not sure who your HSC is, please email info@mwtn.org.

A newsletter for Midwest Transplant Network's frontline partners • 5

National Donate Life Month Plans and Spirit Week

pril is National Donate Life Month, and we invite your office to join us in participating in the National Donate Life Month Spirit Week from April 6 – 12. Be sure to take pictures and submit your entries into the contests hosted by Donate Life America. Learn more about Spirit Week: mwtn.org/blue-green

Call for Community Events and Outreach Opportunities

023 saw a 20% increase in community engagement and outreach, with many of our new opportunities coming from you — our licensing, treasury and Department of Revenue partners. As we begin this new year, more than ever, we would love to learn about where in the community MTN’s volunteer Ambassadors and staff should be to share the message of organ, eye and tissue donation. If you have a community event or outreach idea, please share with our Community Engagement Coordinator, Nichole Asquith, at nasquith@mwtn.org.

6 • Learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation at mwtn.org

Message of Hope Receives Donate Life America Pinnacle Award

essage of Hope was derived during a Donate Life Kansas team meeting when preparing for National Donate Life Month and discussing ways to expand the reach of organ, eye and tissue donation information across the state of Kansas. A representative of the Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles suggested adding a donation-related message to their interactive voice recording system for National Donate Life Month. It was a creative idea to reach a new audience at no additional cost, since this system was already in use with the Department of Revenue, and the recording is updated monthly. The initial plan was for this recording to be shared throughout National Donate Life Month; however, it was later decided to keep the messaging indefinitely to increase awareness of organ, eye and tissue donation. Within the first nine months, the message reached over 330,000 callers, encouraging them to consider saying “yes” when asked to join the organ, eye and tissue donor registry.

Kelly Falwell from Saving Sight accepted the Donate Life America Pinnacle Award on behalf of the the Donate Life Kansas team for the Message of Hope campaign.

The Message of Hope campaign recently won a national Pinnacle Award — which annually recognize and share outstanding, effective and innovative programs from organizations in the Donate Life community — from Donate Life America.

A newsletter for Midwest Transplant Network's frontline partners • 7

Mission Saving lives by honoring the gift of donation with dignity and compassion

1900 W. 47th Place, Suite 400 Westwood, KS 66205

Vision Leading organ and tissue donation through excellence, quality and partnerships

Follow Us /MidwestTransplantNetwork /MidwestTransplantNetwork /MidwestTransplantNetwork @MWTransplant Midwest Transplant Network

February Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. or Friday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. • 2024 National Donate Life Month Promotional Materials Kickoff Webinar

Upcoming Events Event Audience Key General MTN Funeral Home & Medical Examiner Partners

Join MTN’s Community Engagement & Public Relations team to learn more about free resources for use during National Donate Life Month. For more information: mwtn.org/ndlm-webinar Wednesday, Feb. 14 • Songs From the Heart and National Donor Day Tune in on the air 90.9 FM in Kansas City or online from anywhere to hear stories about people who have been impacted by organ, eye and tissue donation from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. For more information: bridge909.org

Hospital Partners Licensing, Treasury and Department of Revenue Partners

April Friday, April 12 • National Donate Life Blue & Green Day Wear blue and green and share the importance of registering as a donor. For more information: donatelife.net/blue-green-day

View all upcoming events: mwtn.org/events

June Saturday, June 1 • Donate Life Legacy Walk Join us for the eighth-annual Donate Life Legacy Walk and celebrate the gift of life with live music, food trucks and more. Registration is free! For more information: mwtn.org/legacy-walk