Ottawa hospitals shine in provincial report on organ and tissue donation

Two Ottawahospitals have achieved a perfect score on a pair of measures related to organ and tissue donation rates, according to a new provincial report.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) bothachieved100 per cent in their notification andconversion rates last quarter, according to the report from the Trillium Gift of Life Network.

The two rates are used to evaluate a hospital's organ and tissue donation performance.

Thenotification rate measures the frequency at which hospitals inform the network when someone is critically ill and could be a potential donor.

"Without this critical first step, precious lifesaving opportunities are lost," the network said in a release Monday.

The conversion rate, meanwhile, isthe percentage of potential organ donors who go on to become actual donors.

Dr.Bernie McDonald, the heart institute's medical director of the cardiacsurgical intensive care unit, said his hospital's high performance rates area result of shifting focus from simply performing heart transplants to promoting organ and tissue donations.

"Organ donation was somewhat sporadic [in the past]and was approached in amore or less ad hoc manner. So this hasbeen a bit of acultural change for us," McDonald said.

"It wasn't until late 2014, early 2015 [that] theHeart Institute become a designated donation hospital. Up untilthen organ donation could occur, but we didn't have this 'act of notification' process," said McDonald.

CHEOhas also undergoneachange in hospital culture that's contributed to its success promotingorgan and tissue donation, said Jason Hann, director of critical care and surgical services.

"There's always been a level of organizational awareness. But over the last few years, we've certainly brought more understanding to the staff that are caring for patients and families that are potential donors," Hann said.

CHEO holds annual campaigns aimed at informing both patients and staff about organ and tissue donation, Hann said.

"We've celebrated when we've met milestones ... when we've received awards for notification and conversion rates. We [also] have an organ and tissue donation committee that has regular meetings."

As for McDonald, he also credited the Trillium Gift of Life Networkwith helping raisethe profile of organ and tissue donation in the province.

"You now have a third of Ontariansregistered as potential donors," he said, adding he believes that numbermakes the difficult donation discussion with families easier.

"Increasingly, it's families who are opening the door to that conversation."