On 11th October 2017, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai in association with Regional Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organization (ROTTO), Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC) and MOHAN organized a talk on Organ Donation Practices in the UK by Angela Ditchfield, Diversity Lead Nurse – Organ Donation and Transplantation, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom.
Ms. Ditchfield explained in detail about the current practices in organ donation in the UK along with the various people involved in the field of organ donation.
She also discussed the international models in place for organ donation citing examples of Spain, USA and Italy. She then discussed the various reports of the Organ Donation Taskforce along with the strategies devised by the NHS in overcoming obstacles related to organ donation.
Ms. Ditchfield then discussed the NHS BT strategy namely, “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020” which includes a required referral policy, organ donation committee, inputs by the Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation and steps involved in a Potential Donor Audit.
She then discussed the criteria for Donation post cardiac death (DCD) Heart Donation in the UK which is in the initial stages, role of Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation (SNOD), implementation of Specialist Requestor Role, various criteria involved in the decision to withdraw treatment for DCD and steps involved in seeking consent for organ donation.