Donor to recipient

THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY of OneLegacy’s explanation of the donor process:

Hospitals contact OneLegacy when a patient is admitted with a severe neurologic injury and is supported by mechanical ventilation. The patient’s progress is monitored and, ideally, they recover.

If the patient’s physicians determine recovery seems impossible, they routinely test for blood flow to the brain. Without blood flow, a patient is “brain dead” and ventilator use would be discontinued, unless there is potential for organ or tissue donation.

OneLegacy determines if the patient is registered in the California donor registry. The donor’s registration is similar to an “advance directive” that cannot be overturned.

If the patient is not registered, OneLegacy presents the patient’s family with the opportunity to save or improve other people’s lives through tissue and organ donation.

Similarly, in cases of circulatory death, when the family is considering withdrawing care to a loved one, who shows no signs of improvement, a Donation after Circulatory Death, or DCD, is discussed.

OneLegacy consults with the attending physician to confirm that the patient is declared brain dead, or that the family is ready to withdraw care.

Once the family authorizes organ, eye and tissue donation, OneLegacy conducts tests to ensure organ viability, prescribe medical treatments to improve organ function, and begin determining where the patient’s organs and tissues will be allocated.

Organs are allocated to the highest-ranking match as determined by the federally contracted United Network for Organ Sharing list of patients awaiting a lifesaving organ transplant.

Families are given time to say their goodbyes before the patient is taken to the operating room for donation.

In the operating room, OneLegacy and medical staffs observe a moment of silence to honor the donor, and share prayers or words requested by the donor’s family.

Teams from the UNOS-prioritized transplant centers proceed to recover each organ and pack it into an insulated container that is filled with ice to keep the organ viable for donation.

Immediately after recovering the organs, transplant teams or special couriers transport the organs to the transplant centers, where the recipients are waiting to receive them. Each organ has a specific timeline. For example, a heart can only be viable for about four to six hours, while a kidney can be viable for about 24 to 36 hours.