Indiana Donor Network Celebrating ‘Historic’ Year
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Donor Network says it has overcome a long list of challenges this year to set a record for the number of life-saving organs transplanted. By mid-October, the state’s federally-designated organ recovery organization had shattered last year’s number, putting it on pace to increase the number of organs transplanted by more than 30%. The previous record was set last year with 665 transplants and Chief Executive Officer Kellie Hanner says more than 780 transplants have been made possible so far this year.
In an interview with Business of Health Reporter Kylie Veleta, Hanner explained how the organization has been able to thrive during the pandemic.
“Early on, we partnered with the Indiana State Department of Health to test all of our potential donors for COVID-19 and then of course, patients who tested positive couldn’t become donors,” said Hanner. “But we also adapted our staffing guidelines to reduce our team’s exposure to COVID-19. We started working and communicating with families virtually of potentially organ donors.”
Hanner says the transition to virtual meetings with donors and families was difficult because of the importance of creating a connection. However, she says the May opening of the Indiana Donor Network Organ and Tissue Recovery Center in Indianapolis also contributed to the nonprofit’s success by reducing the need for hospital space for organ donation.
“We do still do some recoveries at the hospital, but our recovery center here allows us to save more lives. It reduces our travel time for transplant teams, minimizes preservation times for the organs, (and) also creates a more positive experience for donor families. They don’t spend as much time waiting at the hospital…and it certainly also decreases healthcare costs.”
Even before the pandemic hit, Hanner says the Indiana Donor Network was making moves to increase donor referral rates. She says the network’s hospital services team tripled in size and also increased the age range for potential donors up to the age of 85.
Hanner says even though the network has seen “astounding” numbers for organ donation this year, there is still more work to be done.
“Despite our record-setting year, there’s still more than 100,000 people waiting nationally for a life-saving organ transplant and more than 1,300 here in Indiana alone.”