Locals encouraged to talk to their families about their wishes concerning organ donation
PARKTOWN – Wits Transplant has seen an increase in organ donation consent rates within their catchment hospitals.
The team at Wits Transplant, based at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Parktown, has taken a leap forward by increasing organ donation consent rates. But more still needs to be done to eradicate deaths on the waiting list.
The consent rate at the Wits Transplant catchment area hospitals increased from 25 per cent in January 2018 to 73 per cent in June 2019 thanks to a multi-team approach.
In a paper published by the team at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, the team describes the new Wits Transplant Procurement Model consisting of two phases – an increase in referrals from hospital staff and an increase in consent rates.
Transplant coordinator at the centre, Marlize de Jager explained that the most important and simplest way to improve organ donation rates is to encourage people to have conversations with their families about their wishes concerning organ donation.
“A short conversation can change a life,” said Alice Vogt, the first person in South Africa to receive two bilateral lung transplants thanks to donations from organ donors.
Vogt has since started the NPO Tell (Transplant Education for Living Legacies), encouraging people to have a discussion with their families about whether they would like to donate their organs.
De Jager explained the new strategy of Wits Transplant, “The multi-team approach involved a three-prong approach of acknowledging families for saving a life, educating medical staff to conduct referrals and ensuring that transplant procurement coordinators are properly managed.”
Transplant manager at the centre Carla Wilmans explained that during medical studies there is hardly any time spent discussing the field of transplantation and myths need to be dispelled at a medical staff level.
“People believe that they have to be registered to donate organs, which is not true – the families make the decision. Staff think that referring potential donors will increase their workload, which is also not true. Others believe donors will not be treated with respect, which is untrue. Donors are treated with as much respect and dignity as in any other surgery. Others have racial stereotypes concerning organ donation,” said Wilmans.
Medical bioethicist Dr Harriet Etheredge explained that it is difficult to chat to families about organ donation when they are going through a grieving process. “If they have already had the conversation with their loved one, it makes the process easier and feels like a weight is lifted off their shoulders,” said Etheredge.
“Everybody deserves to be given the choice.”
Vogt said, “Until it affected me, I never thought of donation. Such a small conversation can have such life-changing potential.”
With thousands of people across the country waiting for organs, there is still much more work to be done.
De Jager said that at Wits Transplant, the death rate for children waiting for livers is 18 per cent.
“Our goal is to have no deaths on the waiting list,” concluded De Jager.
Visit Tell on Facebook @Tellorgza to find out more.
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