LifeGift

Procurement:as an Organ procurement organization (opo), Lifegift staff are available 24 hours a day to receive referrals from hospital personnel who identify potential Organ and/or tissue donors. The organization is responsible for servicing a federally designated service area, which includes 109 counties in houston, fort worth, lubbock and amarillo and works with approximately 200 hospitals. During 2022, 1,462 organs were recovered from 441 donors for transplant, a rate of recovery that is higher than most other opos in the country. Lifegift works with transplant centers and united network for Organ sharing (unos) to facilitate the matching of donor organs to recipients. Lifegift staff follow the policies dictated by the Organ procurement transplant network (optn) for the allocation of organs. Additionally, Lifegift maintains a communications call Center, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Center screens referrals, approaches families for authorization and medical history information and coordinates Organ and tissue recovery efforts. Lifegift received more than 41,000 referrals in 2022. Lifegift also recovers tissue and works with nine local and national tissue processors to refer tissue used for transplantation. During 2022, there were more than 1,500 tissue donations of bone, skin, heart valves and veins. These donations save the lives of burn victims and children with heart defects. Lifegift's facilities include five on-site operating rooms for tissue recovery. Referrals are also provided to four eye banks to recover corneas to restore sight and for research purposes.

Public education:public education and outreach are vital components of Lifegift's mission. In its work to increase Organ and tissue Donation, Lifegift educates the community about Donation and encourages texans to join the donate life Texas registry to designate themselves an Organ and tissue donor. Lifegift seeks to create a culture of Donation with a particular emphasis on building trust and relationships with multicultural communities to dispel myths about Donation and create strong connections between Lifegift and the people it serves. With the support of an active volunteer program, Lifegift hosts public events, partners with associations, businesses, and elected officials to develop and implement awareness campaigns, participates in numerous community events and activities to promote Donation and the donor registry, and works with the media and within the social media environment to educate the community and encourage texans to join the donor registry. Some highlights from the work of Lifegift's communications team includes events centered around national donate life month in april, multicultural awareness month in august, hispanic heritage month in september, two community races (second chance runs) hosted by Lifegift in fort worth and houston, and the development and distribution of weekly and quarterly newsletters geared towards our hospital partners and volunteers. Lifegift's goal in interacting with families given the opportunity to donate their loved one's organs and tissue is to provide a sensitive and supportive environment that encourages generosity and ensures the family feels heard and supported. This support extends beyond the time of the Donation through Lifegift's aftercare program. All tissue and Organ donor families are enrolled in this program, which provides a series of mailings, activities and events that honors the donor and provides support and solace to donor families. Donor families receive a series of mailings throughout the first year of loss, beginning with an aftercare packet provided after their loved one's passing. Families may choose to correspond or connect directly with their loved one's recipients, which Lifegift facilitates. Lifegift also provides general recipient health updates upon request and can assist families with finding additional support in their community if they need it. Lifegift also provides donor family-focused webinars, a quarterly e-newsletter and hosts an annual remembrance ceremony for families to honor their loved ones.

Professional education:lifegift facilitates Organ and tissue Donation at over 200 hospitals across Texas, working with hospital partners to employ data, education, and strategic plans to build successful Donation programs and optimize Donation at each institution. The hospital's understanding of its role and responsibilities in facilitating Donation is vital to ensuring that all potential donors are identified, donor families are supported appropriately, and that the Donation process occurs efficiently and effectively, ultimately increasing Donation rates. Lifegift's Donation systems team serves as liaisons between Lifegift and the hospitals, ensuring a consistent presence at the hospitals to drive engagement and accountability for Donation outcomes. These responsibilities include building relationships with hospital stakeholders, collecting and sharing key performance metrics, collaborating to employ quality improvement efforts to increase Donation, performing medical record review to determine donor potential and consistent education of hospital staff involved in the Donation process. Lifegift also works closely with hospital leadership to build a culture that supports Donation, identify opportunities for improvement and address any barriers to Donation within the institution.