Share life through Carolina Donor Services
Part II

By Sherrie Norris
Last week, we introduced our readers to Carolina Donor Services, a federally designated organ procurement organization serving 6.1 million people in 79 counties of North Carolina and Danville, Va.

Included locally in the organization’s service area of 102 hospitals are Cannon Memorial Hospital, Watauga Medical Center and Ashe Memorial Hospital, in addition to four transplant centers that perform heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants.

Beth Hinesley, community coordinator, said that the organization’s mission is straightforward: saving and improving lives through a commitment to increasing organ and tissue donation. “Our team of dedicated professionals work diligently to increase the awareness of the need for organ and tissue donors and to deliver the most sensitive approach to organ and tissue donation,” she said. “We perform public and professional education, as well as coordinate the entire organ and tissue donation process.”

Carolina Donor Services has three main offices - Durham/Chapel Hill, Greenville and Winston-Salem.
Hinesley said there are three ways to become a donor: Sign up online at DonateLifeNC.org, say “yes” to donation on your driver’s license, and express your wishes to your family.

“The most important thing you can do is to discuss organ and tissue donation with your family,” she said.
Among the most frequently asked questions about donations are, “What organs and tissues can be donated and how are they used?

She said, “Organs that can be donated include the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and small intestine. Organs are used to save lives by replacing diseased organs with healthy ones. Tissues that can be donated include skin, bone, corneas, heart valves and veins. Skin grafts are used in burn victims; bone, tendons and ligaments can be used in reconstructive surgeries; corneas are transplanted to give sight; heart valves are used in valve replacement surgery, common in children, and leg veins can be used in heart bypass surgery.”
Hinesley emphasized, “Donation costs nothing to the donor’s family or estate. The family is only responsible for hospital charges before the death declaration and for funeral and burial expenses.”

Whether a donor or not, she said, has no effect on the quality of care one might receive at a medical facility. “If you are sick or injured and admitted to the hospital, the number one priority is to save your life. Organ and tissue donation can only be considered after a person is declared legally dead.”

There is no age limit for donation. Potential donors are evaluated on an individual basis, regardless of age.
Hinesley added that the organ allocation system is “blind to wealth or social status.” All potential recipients are entered into a national computer database maintained by the United Network for organ Sharing (UNOS). When a donor is identified, the donor’s blood type, tissue type, body weight, and size are matched against the list of patients currently waiting for a transplant. The severity of the potential recipient’s illness and his/her time on the waiting list are also considered.

And there are no racial barriers to donation and matching organs. “Race is not a barrier, nor is it a criteria for organ placement,” Hinesley said. “The UNOS computer database matches organ donors with potential recipients according to medical suitability. However, patients waiting for kidney transplants are more likely to match medically with a donor of the same race.”

Surprisingly enough, people who have (or have had) some forms of cancer can be eye donors, as well as an organ and tissue donor if they have been cancer-free for at least five years.

Unfortunately, organs cannot be used if a potential donor dies at home. “Organs must have a continuous blood and oxygen supply to be suitable for transplantation. Only individuals who have been declared brain dead, usually in a hospital intensive care unit, can be potential organ donors. However, tissue donation can occur when someone dies at home.”

Hinesley explained that brain death occurs as a result of a severe injury to the head or a brain hemorrhage.
“The brain swells and obstructs its own blood supply,” she said. “Without blood flow, the brain dies. Brain death is the complete and irreversible, stopping of all brain function as indicated by medical tests. Brain death is not a coma – it is permanent and cannot be reversed. Brain dead patients have no chance of survival, but they do have a chance to help patients needing transplants live full, productive lives.”

One might wonder if being a donor results in a delay in funeral services, but the answer is “no” in most cases. “The procedure can be completed and the body released to the funeral home the next day.”
Open casket funerals? Yes.

“Organ and tissue recoveries are conducted in the operating room under the direction of qualified surgical personnel,” Hinesley said. “An incision is made, closed, and dressed; therefore, the body’s appearance is not changed by the donation process. Also, the identity of the donor family is kept confidential so no one will know that donation took place.”

If you are an organ donor, you will not be able to donate your body to science. “If you are an organ or tissue donor, a medical school will not accept your remains for teaching purposes. However, if you are an eye donor, you may donate your body to a medical school. Some research institutions will accept your body for research after organ and tissue donation.”

Be willing today to give the “Gift of Life” through organ and tissue donation.

Additional information is available and a uniform donor card may be downloaded by visiting www.carolinadonorservices.org or by calling 1-800-200-2672.

Just in case anyone is wondering, Hinesley reminded, it is against the law to buy or sell organs in the United States.

The Heart Prevails
On Sept. 6, 2007, Gov. Mike Easley signed a new law that will convert the existing heart symbol on the driver’s license to legal consent for organ and eye donation. Previously the symbol signified only the intent to donate.

The “Heart Prevails” bill was sponsored by Reps. Folwell (R–Winston-Salem), Holliman (D-Lexington), Clary (R-Cherryville) and Wainwright (D-Havelock).

“The Heart Prevails legislation puts into action what most North Carolinians thought was already law… that putting the heart on your driver’s license to become a donor is honored legally,” said Rep. Dale Folwell, who has personal experience with organ donation. “I filed this bill in honor of Tim Dillon, who died in 2006. Tim was a generous husband, father and community leader who wanted very much to be a donor, but his opportunity was missed. With the help of Carolina Donor Services and 13 other state and private agencies, the North Carolina General Assembly and, now, Gov. Easley’s signature, this law will increase the likelihood that people similar to Tim are able to save lives through organ donation.”

The heart on the license symbol is entered into a Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) registry and can only be accessed by the state’s organ and eye procurement organizations at the time of death. If a person has indicated that they would like to be an organ donor the procurement agencies work with families to walk them through the process of honoring their loved one’s wishes. The N.C. Coalition on Donation is pursuing a way to enter the registry online in addition to a visit to the DMV.

“This is excellent news for those on the transplant waiting list,” said director of communications and marketing for Carolina Donor Services, Jeannine Sato. “There is a shortage of organ donors and as a result there are thousands waiting for transplants. This law puts the decision making power in the hands of the donor.”

North Carolina is one of 19 states to pass a revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, upon which House Bill 1372 is based. Nine other states have introduced similar bills. House Bill 1372 takes effect on Oct. 1, 2007.