HHS Honors Hospitals That Raised Organ Donation Rates

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today honored 371 of the nation’s largest hospitals for substantially raising the organ donation rates of eligible donors from their facilities.

Executives of the hospitals, together with their partners in 57 organ procurement organizations (OPOs), received the Department’s Medals of Honor for Organ Donation during a meeting in New Orleans of the Second National Learning Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation.

Hospitals and OPOs were cited for achieving and sustaining a donation rate of 75 percent or more of eligible donors. By contrast, the national average donation rate in all hospitals was 59 percent in 2005, up from 55 percent in 2004. OPOs coordinate organ procurement in designated service areas and work to preserve organs and arrange for their distribution according to national policies.

“The work of these hospitals and OPOs made possible 1,200 more life-saving and life-enhancing transplants in 2005 compared to 2004,” said Elizabeth M. Duke, administrator of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, which houses the federal government’s pro-donation activities. “Their achievements show that we can improve systems to boost donation rates and save more lives in the future.”

Hospitals with eight or more potential organ donors during the 26-month award period ending in June 2006 were eligible for the Medals of Honor. All winning hospitals had to achieve and sustain a donation rate of 75 percent or more from among eligible donors for at least a year. The 371 winning hospitals come from a pool of 787 hospitals that met eligibility criteria.

Organ donation increased by an unprecedented 10.8 percent in 2004, and 2005 rates surpassed this milestone by an additional 6.2 percent. Results so far for the first seven months of 2006 have increased beyond the trend established in 2005.

"As we celebrate these outstanding accomplishments, let us remember that behind each number is a human face: an individual who has made a gift of life by becoming an organ donor, and the people who have benefited from a life-giving, life-enhancing transplant,” relates RADM Kenneth Moritsugu, Acting U.S. Surgeon General. “The success of these dedicated professionals through this collaborative is helping save more lives, and increasing the quality and length of life for more people. It is only fitting that we recognize their exceptional efforts through this HHS Medal of Honor for Organ Donation.”

These record gains followed HRSA’s launch in 2003 of the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative. That initiative brought together donation professionals and hospital leaders to identify and share best practices to maximize organ donation rates from people who die in their facilities. The goal was to achieve organ donation rates of at least 75 percent at participating hospitals. Staff from HRSA and the OPOs helped participating hospitals identify, adapt, test, and implement practices known to produce high donation rates.

The success of the donation collaborative led to the launch in May 2005 of a related initiative, the Organ Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative. This effort seeks to increase the average number of organs transplanted per donor to 3.75 or more, up from an average of about three organs transplanted per donor in 2004. Two U.S. Donation Service Areas, in Iowa and in the San Francisco area, were recognized at the Learning Congress for already meeting this challenging target. Two Canadian teams from Quebec and Ontario also were lauded for meeting the 3.75 goal as part of the U.S.-led international effort. For more information on the Organ Donation and Organ Transplantation Breakthrough Collaboratives, go to http://www.organdonationnow.org.

With the encouraging results of these initiatives, HRSA used the occasion of the Learning Congress to launch a new, combined Organ Donation and Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative to spread the practices and gains to a larger number of hospitals and transplant programs. The newly chartered Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance will join with HRSA in the conduct of this effort.

HRSA also provides coaching and other logistics support to Donate Life America (http://www.donatelife.net) as that national nonprofit organization works to raise the number of Americans enrolled as designated organ donors to 100 million by June 2008. To date, an estimated 60 million Americans have indicated their wish to donate, usually through state motor vehicle department registries.

Additional information on donation initiatives is available at http://www.organdonor.gov.

Hospitals That Won HHS Medals of Honor for Organ Donation

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