OTDA Essentials
January 2015, Volume 9, Issue II
Twin Valley High School Bakes for Gift of
Life Family House
Twin Valley High School students were busy in the kitchen the week of November 17.
See them in the photos that follow, as they baked brownies, cookies, and muffins,
and prepared them for delivery to the Gift of Life Family House.
http://www.giftoflifefamilyhouse.org/
On Friday, November 21, forty-three students traveled, with chaperones, to visit the
Gift of Life Donor Program facility. After seeing how operations proceed there, they
delivered their baked gifts to the Family House about three blocks away.
In This Issue:
Twin Valley High
School Bakes for Gift
of Life Family House
Organ Transplant:
Could You Be A
Candidate?
2015 Donate Life
Celebrations
Calendar
Two-Day OTDA
Spring Symposium
for Educators
Gift of Life personnel explain
allocation and search for recipients
to Twin Valley students at Gift of
Life Donor Program.
Todd Franzen shares facts about
Transplantation with Twin Valley
students at Gift of Life Donor Program.
OTDA $5,000 MiniGrant Application
Available March 2
Donate Life Act
Update
Educators’
Resources
Twin Valley students roll cookies for
baking for Gift of Life Family House.
In discussing organ transplant and donation with students,
questions often arise concerning how one becomes eligible for transplant patient
status. The following item delineates factors considered in determining that a patient
is a good candidate for organ transplant.
Organ Transplant: Could You Be A
Candidate?
By Denise DeWitt HERWriter
(from: http://www.empowher.com/transplant-procedures/content/organ-transplant-could-yoube-candidate?page=0,0)
An organ transplant can be a life-saving surgery for someone with a necessary organ
that is about to fail or no longer functions. But appropriate organs are not always
available for transplant when needed, and not every person with organ failure is a
candidate for organ transplant surgery.
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is a private, non-profit organization that
is under contract with the U.S. government to manage the nation’s organ transplant
system. Its job description includes:
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herarticle
• Matching organ donors with recipients
• Maintaining a database of information about every organ transplant in the United
States
• Helping to develop and monitor policies to ensure all patients in need of an organ
have a fair chance to receive an appropriate match
According to UNOS, more than 14,000 organ transplants took place in the United
States between January and June, 2014. In September, nearly 80,000 candidates
were on the active waiting list hoping that an organ would become available for
transplant.
In order to become a candidate for organ donation, a patient must first receive a
diagnosis that requires transplant surgery. The most common diagnosis is end-stage
organ failure as the result of some other serious disease such as cardiomyopathy,
COPD, coronary heart disease, diabetes or cystic fibrosis.
If your doctor believes you need an organ transplant, he or she will refer you to a
transplant center for evaluation. The transplant center will run physical tests to
determine whether you are healthy enough for successful surgery.
This includes determining whether the other organs and
systems in your body are functioning well enough to support the new organ.
The center will also consider non-medical criteria to determine if you are a good
candidate to receive an organ. These criteria may include:
• Life expectancy
How old are you and what other physical issues do you have? Are you likely to reach
the expected “life span” of the transplant organ if you have transplant surgery?
• Past behavior
The team may take into account whether your original organ failure was the result of
behaviors such as smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse or eating disorders. Continuing
these behaviors after surgery could compromise a transplanted organ.
• Compliance
People who receive donor organs must comply with strict rules to ensure the health of
the new organ, such as taking medications and eliminating harmful behaviors. Failure
to follow your doctor’s instructions for current or past treatments may make you less
likely to receive a transplant organ.
• Previous transplants
The transplant team may take into account whether you have had an organ
transplant in the past that resulted in a second organ failure.
Because the need for donor organs is so great, the transplant team will carefully
evaluate whether you need a transplant at this time or whether other therapies
including other medical or surgical procedures could delay your need for a transplant.
The transplant team will also consider your mental health as well as your social support
system before deciding whether you are a good candidate for an organ transplant. If
you are accepted as a candidate, your medical profile will be added to the national
patient waiting list for organ transplant.
UNOS maintains the complex computerized database that is constantly updated and
kept available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When an organ becomes available, a transplant coordinator anywhere in the United
States can access the database to generate a ranked list of the best matched
candidates.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Organ Transplantation: The Process. Web.
September 22, 2014.
http://www.organdonor.gov/about/transplantationprocess.html
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network. Web. September 22, 2014.
http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov
General Considerations in Assessment for Transplant Candidacy. Web.
September 22, 2014.
http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/resources/bioethics.asp?index=5
United Network for Organ Sharing. About Us. Web. September 22, 2014.
http://www.unos.org
United Network for Organ Sharing. How the Transplant System Works. Web. September 22,
2014.
http://www.unos.org/donation/index.php?topic=fact_sheet_1
Reviewed September 23, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
The 2015 Donate Life Celebrations
Calendar
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Black History Month - February
National Donor Day - February 14
National Eye Donor Month - March
World Kidney Day - March 12
Healthcare Decisions Day - April 16
Older Americans Month - May
Liver Awareness Month - October
Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day - October 15
National Make a Difference Day - October 25
Dia De Los Muertos - November 1
November – National Donor Sabbath (Fri-Sun, 2 weekends before Thanksgiving)
Free !! Two-Day OTDA Spring
Symposium for Educators
Registration is open for the FREE two-day OTDA Spring Symposium for Educators,
School Nurses, and Administrators, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 7 and 8,
2015, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College.
Earn ten Act 48 credits or RN credits (pending). There is no registration fee and an
irresistible agenda! (see details below)
Would your classroom benefit from a $5000.00 mini-grant? If so, this symposium is for
you. Participants will be exposed to the latest research and facts surrounding organ
and tissue donation. This symposium will provide you with exciting projects, lessons,
and resources to assist with the implementation of the curriculum. The OTDA awardwinning curriculum provides the opportunity for teachers and students to participate
in an engaging and life-changing experience. Participants are given the opportunity
to network with educators currently enhancing their existing curriculum with the OTDA
toolkit. The OTDA Education Project will cover the cost of the conference, lodging
(double occupancy), breakfast and lunch.
Attendees will hear real-life stories during two panel discussions. The first will include
professionals in the field of organ and tissue donation. The second panel includes
organ recipients, donor family, and a possible transplant candidate. Participants will
view a general cadaver demonstration, via video stream, through Adventures in
Medicine and Science, from Saint Louis University. Sessions will include presentations
on Addiction from a transplant recipient, OTDA 101, mini-grant writing basics, and
showcases from current grant recipients.
To register for this event, go to the IU13 Events page on the IU13 website,
www.iu13.org/Studentsandparents/Pages/OrganandTissueDonationAwareness.aspx,
scroll to May 2015, and click on the OTDA Symposium link.
For additional information, please contact Heather Shearer at (717) 606-1795 or
heather_shearer@iu13.org.
OTDA $5,000 Mini-Grant
Application Available March 2
On Monday, March 2, 2015, the OTDA Mini-Grant application will go live on our
website:
www.iu13.org/Studentsandparents/Pages/OrganandTissueDonationAwarenss.aspx
By completing this simple, low-requirement application, you could earn up to $5,000
for your school, to be used in implementing organ and tissue donation awareness
education into your existing curricula. To obtain ideas on how other schools have
utilized the grant, see past issues of OTDA Essentials, available in the “Documents
Library” of our website. Additional resources are in the OTDA Classroom Toolkit (also
available in the Documents Library), pages 32-39. Actual lesson plans and activities
are on pages 40-75.
A grant-writing workshop will be offered at the upcoming OTDA Spring Symposium,
May 7-8. Also there, you can see presentations from current grant recipients to learn
the creative ways they are using grant funds to educate their students about organ
and tissue donation.
Educator quotes:
“…The grant has given my students access to equipment and opportunities such as
guest speakers and field-trips that they would not have had without our school
receiving the OTDA Grant.”
“The grant has given our students exposure to a real-world issue and given them the
opportunity to research, educate themselves as well as others on this issue, and
develop their own opinions to guide them in making informed decisions on organ and
tissue donation.”
Donate Life Act (SB850) Update
In an email, dated October 29, 2014:
“Dear Supporters of the Donate Life PA Act (SB 850),
Thank you for your work this year in support of SB 850. YOUR LIFE SAVING MESSAGE
WAS HEARD and THERE IS NOW A COMMITMENT TO ACTION!
Thanks to your repeated and vocal message regarding the importance of action on
the Donate Life PA Act—the PA Senate strongly endorsed the bill with a vote of 47-3.
However there were not enough session days left in the PA House though to bring the
bill to a vote. BECAUSE OF YOUR VOICE, we did receive a commitment from House
leadership to address this important issue when they return in January 2015. We will
need your support in the coming months as we look forward to working with the
legislators to honor their commitment. We will reach out to you early in 2015 as we
prepare to move the Donate Life PA Act forward and save lives together.
Sincerely,
Gift of Life Donor Program
& the Save a Life Now PA Coalition”
Educators' Resources
Amazing story of how organ donation leads to many good things:
http://hdnews.net/news/lungtransplant052114
Real Football heroes, The Kemoeatu Brothers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4_gCPUfkLM
Heart-warming story of donation from one stranger to another:
http://www.9news.com/story/news/health/2014/06/11/strangerdonates-kidney-to-save-loveland-womans-life/10343703/
Deadline for next issue of OTDA Essentials:
Monday, March 31, 2015
(submit your questions, ideas, student activities to:
margaret_spiese@iu13.org)
Contact:
Lancaster-Lebanon IU13
Heather Shearer
717-606-1795 • heather_shearer@iu13.org
@OTDAatIU13