Organ Donation & Transplants

Organ Donations And Transplants

Organ donation saves lives. Making the decision to donate organs is the most important gift we can ever give. Making friends and family aware of how you feel and your wishes on organ donation are the key steps towards saving lives. #havethatconversation

Donation greatly enhances and in many cases, saves the life of the person who receives the transplanted organ.

The national team of Donor Coordinators from Organ Donation Transplant Ireland manage the overall process of donation and retrieval in Ireland. They work closely to support families at the time of their loss and throughout the journey of donation.

In addition, there are Specialist Organ Donation Personnel in the intensive care units of hospitals throughout the country. They provide advice, staff training and education on donation.
Organ donation and transplant surgery are well established in Ireland. There are three specialist transplant centres in Ireland.

1. The National Kidney Transplant Service is located in Beaumont University Hospital where both living and deceased kidney transplants occur. Paediatric kidney transplants are carried out in Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.
2. The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital hosts the National Heart and Lung Transplant Service. The specialist transplant team perform both heart and lung transplantation surgery for patients from all over Ireland.
3. The National Liver Transplant Service has been running at St. Vincent’s University Hospital since 1993. More recently, in 2016 the National Pancreas Transplant Centre moved to St. Vincent’s University Hospital.

 

Organ Donation Process

The following information outlines the organ donation process, facilitated by the Donor Coordinators in Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI).

 

What organs can be donated?

Organs that can be donated in Ireland are:

• Heart
• Lungs
• Liver
• Pancreas
• Kidneys

 

How does the organ donation process happen?

Organ donation only takes place after your loved one has died. The operation is carried out by highly skilled doctors and nurses in the operating theatre in this hospital. The dignity and respect of your loved one is a priority at all times.

What happens after the donation operation?

After the donation operation, your loved one looks the same. The donation process will not delay funeral arrangements. The donor coordinator will write to the donor family after a few weeks giving an update of each person who benefitted from the organ donation. The identity of your loved one and the person who received the donated organs are at all times kept confidential.

Organ donors save hundreds of people’s lives each year.

A recent survey has shown that more than 80% of the Irish population agree with organ donation.

What’s Next?

Once the decision to proceed with organ donation has been made by the family, the donor coordinator from the National ODTI  Service in Dublin is contacted.

In 2015 Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI) was set up to comply with EU regulations as the national service. This is a 24/7 service provided  365 days a year.

Donor coordinators organise the donation process providing support and advice to all families and hospitals nationwide. The coordinators  contact the transplant centres who find suitably matched recipients and schedule a time for the donation to take place.

The donor coordinator then travels to the local hospital and meets the donor family. The donation process is described and outlined and any questions the family may have are answered.

As part of the process a detailed health and lifestyle questionnaire is completed with families to ensure there are no contraindications to donation. Having spoken with the donor coordinator if the family then wish to proceed with organ donation, the family will then be asked for consent. Only organs which are specifically consented for are taken for transplantation and only if a suitable recipient has been identified.

There are also 6 ODTI team members available locally, within the hospital groups around the country who provide support and education for local hospital staff.

Transplant Teams – Caring For A Vulnerable Community

The donor operation takes place in the operating theatre by the transplant teams in the hospital where the donor has died, under the same surgical conditions as any other operation.

There are individual transplant teams for each of the organs that are being donated, and the surgery is performed by specialist transplant teams from the individual transplant centres: the Mater Hospital for heart & lung, St Vincent’s Hospital for liver and Pancreas and Beaumont Hospital for kidney.

Each team consists of two surgeons and a nurse. The donor coordinator is present in theatre during the surgery to support both the donor and transplant personnel during the process, and cares for the donor after the procedure. It is the highest priority of our teams to maintain dignity and respect for the deceased person at all times.

Recipient Operation

Following donation, each individual team takes responsibility to transport the organ back with them to the transplant centre where the recipient operation will take place. The transplants are carried out without delay as soon as the recipients are prepared for the operation.

The Gift of Life

4-6 weeks following the donation, the ODTI donor coordinators will write to the donor family thanking them and giving them news of each recipient who has benefited from the donation. At any stage following donation, a donor family may contact the donor coordinator to enquire about the well-being of the recipients.

The gift of life is the greatest gift to receive. Each year in Ireland approximately 300 transplants take place, each offering new life to so many. This new life is given through the thoughtfulness and unselfishness of so many donor families who make that very brave decision to donate their loved ones’ organs for transplantation. Transplant recipients are forever grateful and remember their donor and donor family every day of their new lives.

The National Living Donor Renal Transplant programme is run by the National Renal Transplant programme at  Beaumont hospital. Click here for more information, or contact the Renal Transplant Co-ordinator, Beaumont Hospital, at (01) 809 2759 or (01) 809 2298.

 

The Living Donor Reimbursement Scheme

The reimbursement scheme allows for living donors to claim some loss of earnings and out of pocket expenses directly due to the living donation, up to a maximum limit set in the policy.  More information can be obtained from the Transplant Coordinator, Beaumont Hospital, at (01) 809 2759 or (01) 809 2298.

https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/organ-donation-transplant-ireland/ [1]