VICDOC Summer 2025 - Flipbook - Page 34
To have a successful organ and tissue
donation system, we need buy-in
from the whole hospital.
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What are you focusing on
What’s helpful for AMAVic members
in Victoria at the moment?
who work in hospitals to know?
Something we are working on at
Overall, we feel extremely well
a state level is the location where
supported across the board. To have a
intensive care supports are removed
successful organ and tissue donation
for potential donors. When ongoing
system, we need buy-in from the whole
treatment is deemed no longer
hospital. And by and large we get so
beneficial, and the family has agreed
much goodwill from people prioritising
that we are withdrawing supports and
donation and understanding our time
consent to donation, this usually takes
pressures, despite these clinicians
place in ICU. Death typically has
having their own priorities and clinical
to occur within minutes and then
workflow. So, we want to say thank you.
the donor is moved from ICU to the
We ask you to continue to be patient
operating theatre as quickly as
with some of our requests – for example
possible for the retrieval. In some
for tests and scans. At face value it can
parts of the world and other parts
seem incongruous to do some of these
of Australia, it is standard for that
tests or to clear an operating theatre
withdrawal of supports to occur
schedule for a patient who is soon to be
within the theatre complex.
deceased, and we’re not yet sure who is
We know that reducing the time from
going to be able to benefit. It’s natural to
death to retrieval improves organ
ask, why should this be prioritised when
function for recipients. We are learning
there's so much other immediate need?
from interstate experience that this
But when we consider that only around
process is still just as patient- and
2% of people who die in Australian
family-centred and compassionate.
hospitals even meet the medical criteria
This is a change management process
required to be an organ donor, when it is
we are exploring.
possible, it’s worth pursuing.
