The opportunity to be an organ donor presents both the donor and the recipient with unique opportunities.
What we do know and recognize is that the shortage of donors and the growing recipient list presents challenges in providing adequate care to these patients. As a home health and hospice agency, our focus is often on supporting patients after an acute event that exacerbates an underlying disease process. Through our home health service line, we are able to support patients through the rehabilitation required to return to meaningful daily activities. We know this means patients are able to access skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, medical dietitian, and home health aides. The goal is for people to return to their life safely and quickly. In hospice, we support the patient and family in directing end-of-life wishes to support the patient and family goals. We approach this as a team with skilled nursing, chaplain, social worker, and home health aides.
Some key statistics to consider:
- Every 9 minutes a person is added to the transplant list
- 17 people die each day waiting for a transplant
- More than 100,000 people are actively waiting for a transplant
For more information:
organdonor.gov
donatelife.net
COVID-19 has exacerbated these issues. Access to transplants has been compromised during the pandemic, and an increase in deaths has been noted in patients waiting for transplant. If you would like more information, check out https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.16199
We are here to support transplant patients and their families in partnership with community physicians and providers to aid complex case management through home health, hospice, and palliative care.
