According to
year- end statistics, LifeNet was able to facilitate more organ transplants
in 2006 than in the previous history of the organization. In 2006, 392
lives were saved because of organs provided by LifeNet. This was an 11%
increase over 2005 when 347 lives were saved.
This goal could not have been achieved without the dedication of four
of Virginia's top donor hospitals: Sentara Norfolk General Hospital,
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Carilion Roanoke Memorial
Hospital, and the University of Virginia Medical Center. These four
hospitals saw a total of 132 organ donors. Hospital development efforts by
LifeNet established efficient and effective systems to ensure that donors
were referred from the hospitals and evaluated in a timely manner. These
efforts resulted in 22,509 referrals into LifeNet's donor call center.
LifeNet coordinates with approximately 80 hospitals, including five organ
transplant centers in its service area, to facilitate the donation process.
"The transplant changed my life," stated Norfolk resident Letrissa
Cooper, one of the 347 people who received a transplant in 2006. Kidney
failure forced Letrissa on the national transplant waiting list three yeas
ago and she waited desperately for a second chance. As a mother of two
kids, she hoped her transplant would come soon. "I had a lot of pain, I had
trouble walking, and I couldn't participate in activities with my kids,"
Letrissa recalls. On October 16, 2006, she got the transplant she
desperately needed. Letrissa says, "I don't have to spend three days on
dialysis. I now have more energy and I can finally play with my kids,
finish my schooling, and start my career. I am very grateful to my donor
for my new life."
LifeNet also saw a 10% increase from 2005 to 2006 in the number of
tissue grafts supplied to hospitals and physicians. LifeNet provided more
than 230,000 tissue grafts to hospitals in 2006, including more than 18,000
locally to Virginia hospitals. These grafts included heart valves,
allograft implants, ligaments and tendons. The gift of bone and connective
tissues helps individuals with various orthopedic and neurosurgical
conditions. These tissues are used in back, joint, and leg surgeries such
as hip replacement, knee reconstruction, and spinal fusion. Tissue
transplants provide restored mobility and an enhanced life for many
Virginians.
Key factors contributing to the successful year included LifeNet's role
in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Organ Donation
Breakthrough Collaborative, an effort to bring together key national
leaders and practitioners from the Nation's transplantation and hospital
communities to work in collaborative teams. Formed in 2003, the
Collaborative set out to rapidly replicate the best practices of
high-performing institutions and increase donation in the U.S.
LifeNet was able to obtain a higher donation rate of 73% in 2006 versus
64% in 2005 and 50% from 2004. The donation rate is the total number of
actual donors divided by the total number eligible donors. Five of the
hospitals in LifeNet's donation service area (DSA) received special
accommodations from the Department of Health and Human Services in
November. Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, Deputy Surgeon General and a husband and
father of donors, presented the hospitals with DHHS Medals of Honor for
achieving a donation rate of 75 percent in a 12-month period.
"For the first time in Virginia, the number of deaths among those on
the transplant waiting list is decreasing. We are saving more lives and
making a difference for the local communities," said Kevin Myer, LifeNet's
Executive Director. "We are also seeing a tremendous number of referrals
that result in medically suitable donors because of our aggressive efforts
established through the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative. And, it
helps that Virginians have a simple and secure method for recording their
donation decision -- either at or at the DMV."
LifeNet is the federally designated organ procurement organization
(OPO) serving a majority of Virginia and the country's largest
full-service, non- profit OPO and tissue banking system. As a recognized
leader in facilitating the donation and recovery of transplantable organs
and tissues, LifeNet's mission is to save lives and restore health.
To achieve these objectives, LifeNet employs family approach and
recovery programs in hospitals, and increases the awareness of the need for
organ and tissue donation through public education and awareness campaigns
in Virginia.
Each donor has the potential to save seven lives through organ donation
and enhance the lives of more than 50 people through tissue donation.
Organs for transplant include: heart, lungs, kidneys (2), pancreas, liver
and intestine. Tissues that are recoverable include: bone, ligaments,
tendons as well as heart valves and skin.
There is a critical shortage of donors in Virginia. Right now, more
than 2500 Virginians are on the national waiting list for a life-saving
organ transplant. On average, three Virginians die each week waiting for a
life- saving organ transplant that doesn't come in time.
LifeNet
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